It’s Anybody’s Race for Sheriff, D.A.

With the June 2 election fast approaching, nearly two-thirds of Orange County voters have yet to settle on their choices to replace the county’s top two law enforcement officers, according to a Times Orange County Poll.

The poll, completed over the weekend, shows that undecided voters far outnumber those who have made up their minds in the contests for district attorney and sheriff.

The candidates in each race are essentially tied: None holds a lead greater than the poll’s margin of error. In both contests, more than six in 10 voters say they are undecided, according to the poll of 600 Orange County registered voters.

In the contest for district attorney, Assistant Dist. Atty. Wallace Wade leads Superior Court Judge Anthony J. Rackauckas Jr. 19% to 17% among all voters and 22% to 16% among likely voters.

In the sheriff’s race, Santa Ana Police Chief Paul M. Walters leads Marshal Michael S. Carona 17% to 16% among all voters and 21% to 16% among likely voters. The poll has a margin of error of 4%. For likely voters, the margin is 6%.

The electorate’s indecision so far makes the remaining days of the campaigns more important as the candidates compete for the attention of the county’s nearly 1.2 million voters.

The lower-profile local elections have been overshadowed by an explosion of advertising and news coverage in the governor’s contest and several well-financed propositions.

“This affects our lives, but most people don’t really know who is running and don’t read the paper every day,” said Kareen Levy, 35, of Anaheim, who was one of the poll’s respondents.

“Of course, candidates send you mail and it has all the good stuff in it, but right now it is an eeny-meeny-miney-mo thing because you don’t know the candidates,” she said.

Levy said she hasn’t made up her mind but plans to read the voter pamphlets that recently arrived in the mail.

“We see that Orange County voters are not focusing on these races yet,” said Cheryl Katz, director of The Times Orange County Poll. “They may wait ‘til they get into the voting booth to make up their minds.”

Contributing to voter indecision is that for the first time in more than two decades, no incumbent is running in either race. Sheriff Brad Gates is retiring, and Dist. Atty. Mike Capizzi is running for state attorney general.

Three campaigns said voter awareness should go up almost immediately because several mailers have just gone out and more are on the way. Mail in a countywide races is often sent only toward the end of the race because it is expensive. There also is very little television or radio advertising in Orange County contests.

“The local races are getting drowned out by the up-ticket races,” said GOP political consultant Dave Gilliard, who is handling the Rackauckas campaign. “It is hard to break through the $4 million a week in advertising being spent in the governor’s race.”

Gilliard said that Rackauckas is shifting his attention this week from mailing campaign material to absentee voters to sending information to a broader audience of likely voters.

Wade also plans to weigh in. “There is a big push coming,” he said.

Walters isn’t surprised by the number of undecided voters. He said his campaign is putting out two mailers this week.

“People are bombarded with stuff and don’t get interested until the last few days of the election,” he said.

More surprising to Walters, though, is that his precinct walkers are also hearing that “many voters don’t know Sheriff Brad Gates is retiring.”

Carona could not be reached for comment.

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Up in the Air

The race for both Orange County sheriff and district attorney have yet to take shape, with two-third of voters still undecided in both contests.

* If the election for Orange County sheriff were held today, who would you vote for?

Michael S. Carona: 16%

Paul M. Walters: 17%

Don’t know: 67%

* If the election for Orange County district attorney were held today, who would you vote for?

Anthony J. Rackauckas Jr.: 17%

Wallace Wade: 19%

Don’t know: 64%

Source: Times Orange County Poll

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare and Associates. The random telephone survey of 600 registered voters in Orange County was conducted May 14-17. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4%. That means the results are within four percentage points of what they would be if all Orange County registered voters were interviewed. For likely voters, the margin of error is plus or minus 6%.