Villaraigosa, Newsom, Garcetti lead in poll for next governor
Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is hugged by current Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, before Kevin de Leon is sworn in as president pro tempore of the state Senate last year. The two Democrats, along with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, have the most support to be the next California governor, according to a new poll.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and current L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti have the most support among state voters to succeed Jerry Brown as California’s next governor, according to a new poll.
Among the three Democrats, only Newsom has officially launched a gubernatorial campaign, although Villaraigosa – who has been out of public office for two years – has indicated he may consider a run.
In the poll, registered voters were asked whether they were inclined to support one of eight prominent Californians for governor in 2018: 42% said they were inclined to support Villaraigosa; 41% supported Newsom; and 36% supported Garcetti, according to the Field Poll.
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Villaraigosa’s thin edge over Newsom was within the poll’s margin of error.
While Villaraigosa topped the poll, 44% of the voters said they were “not inclined” to support him – which also led the field.
Villaraigosa’s strongest support came from Latino voters and Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco known for championing the right of same-sex couples to marry, received his strongest support in Northern California.
San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent millions backing Democrats who support efforts to combat climate change, received support from 29% of those polled, the same as Democratic state Treasurer John Chiang.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Falconer and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, who lost her bid to be state controller last year to Democrat Betty Yee, were the only Republicans on the list. Falconer was backed by 25% of those polled, and Swearengin by 19%.
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Rounding out the eight, Steve Westly, a former Democratic state controller, was supported by 22% of those polled.
The latest Field Poll surveyed 1,002 registered voters in California from Sept. 17 through Oct. 4. The survey’s maximum margin of potential sampling error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
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