Steyer maintains Dem lead in California governor’s race, Becerra surges in new poll

Xavier Becerra’s campaign for California governor has seen a boost in support, with the former Human and Health Services Secretary now tied at 10% in the most recent polling.

Emerson College Polling released its newest poll early Thursday morning. This is the first Emerson poll that was conducted and released after former U.S. Rep Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race. Billionaire Tom Steyer is leading Democrats with 14% of the vote, followed by Becerra and former U.S. Rep Katie Porter tied at 10%. Becerra has also been seeing increased social media support in recent weeks.

“I believe we have to leave a place that's better for our next generation than what we have. That's what my parents did for me,” Becerra told CALÓ News after a candidate forum this week. “For me, this is all about trying to make sure I understand I'm a caretaker, and I have an obligation to make sure I leave something better for the next generation.”

For respondents between the ages of 18 to 29, the poll showed 20% supported Steyer while 9% put their support behind Becerra.

Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, both Republicans, are leading with 17% and 14%, respectively.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan received 5%, while former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa got 2.5% of the vote in the Emerson poll.

Support for Becerra has seen a dramatic increase in recent weeks, especially since Swalwell’s exit, according to the new poll. 

“In the first Emerson poll since Swalwell’s departure from the race for Governor, Democrats now split their vote between Tom Steyer (20%), Xavier Becerra (19%) and Katie Porter (15%), with Becerra gaining 15 points among Democrats without Swalwell on the ballot,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

The Becerra campaign released a statement Thursday saying it has raised over $500,000 from nearly 12,000 contributions in the days since Swalwell left the race. 

"Secretary Becerra is the most experienced candidate in the race - and voters trust him to address California's complex issues, which is why he has tripled his support since March,” Michael Bustamante, senior campaign advisor, said in a prepared statement. “Today's poll just confirms the trends we have been seeing in all our tracking: Becerra's message and experience are moving voters, and this will only continue as voters begin to shift focus as the June 2 primary approaches.”

The poll was commissioned by KTLA 5 and Nexstar Media Group to determine which candidates would be invited to an April 22 debate. According to a KTLA 5 article published Thursday, Hilton, Bianco, Steyer, Becerra, Porter and Mahan will be invited to participate in the debate.