Final primary polling shows Becerra, Hilton and Steyer still fighting for top two spots

Two weeks ahead of the primary election, the polls are all saying the same thing: there are only three viable candidates in the race for governor: Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer.

Only the two candidates who receive the most votes on June 2 will compete in the November Midterm Election. With a few weeks left until voting ends, Becerra, Hilton and Steyer all still have a chance for those top two spots.

The California Democratic party released its final poll Tuesday, based on 1,200 responses taken from May 14-16: 13% of voters were still undecided at the time the poll was sent out.

The party’s EVITARUS poll showed Hilton with 22% and Becerra right behind with 21%. Hilton, a Republican candidate and former Fox News political commentator from the United Kingdom, has long-been the frontrunner in the gubernatorial race, though he and Becerra have been switching between first and second in most recent polls.

Steyer trails behind at 15%. The billionaire activist has come under fire in the past week over reports from the Sacramento Bee and Washington Post that his campaign paid thousands of dollars to content creators in exchange for positive social media videos of Steyer and negative posts about his rivals, mainly Becerra. 

The crux of the issue, and subsequent probe from the Fair Political Practices Commission, is that the content creators did not disclose they were being paid to their audience.

Steyer’s campaign has told reporters there was no wrongdoing and has continued its persistent attacks on Becerra, including criticizing Becerra’s campaign accepting a $39,000 donation from Chevron.

“The campaign comes down to a simple choice for voters, between a billionaire who fights for working people, or a career politician who fights for billionaires,” the Steyer campaign said in a “closing argument” memo released Wednesday. “That’s the fundamental question of this race, one we’ll be asking voters over the final two weeks.”

Michael Bustamante, senior advisor for the Becerra campaign, told CALÓ News it is “unfortunate” the Steyer campaign "would stoop to that level.”

Emerson College released its latest poll last week conducted May 9-10. It showed Becerra at 19% with Hilton and Steyer tied at 17%.

This marks the first time Becerra was the clear frontrunner in an Emerson poll, with the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary gaining nine points since mid-April. Among Democrats, Becerra leads with 31% support.

“The campaign is firing on all cylinders and we feel really good about where we are and what we have in front of us,” Bustamante said.

The Emerson poll also asked voters how they are planning to vote in the L.A. mayoral race. 30% of respondents said they support incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Former T.V. star Spencer Pratt pulled 22% while City Councilmember Nithya Raman had 19% support.