Brown clings to 5-point lead over Whitman, poll finds

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Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown’s lead over former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman in the California gubernatorial race has narrowed to just five points, according to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll shows Brown with a 41%-36% advantage over Whitman. Brown enjoys a 44%-29% lead over Republican Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Whitman has opened a wide lead over Poizner. Whitman leads Poizner 41%-11%, with 44% of likely Republican primary voters still undecided.

In the Republican U.S. Senate primary, former Rep. Tom Campbell has sprung to an early lead. Campbell leads with 27% of Republican primary voters, followed by 16% for former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina and 8% for Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine).

The survey also shows that Campbell would be the strongest challenger to Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer. Boxer has a 45%-41% lead in a hypothetical match-up with Campbell. Boxer has an eight-point lead over both Fiorina and DeVore.

Boxer has a 49% approval rating among likely voters. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of her job performance.

The poll also asked voters about a number of state budget issues, including taxes, the state pension system and seeking more federal dollars to balance the state’s books.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento