Tag: Jerry Brown

Poll: Home Stretch Rally for Dems in California – Brown up by 13 Points, Boxer by 8

Jon Ponder

The new Los Angeles Times/USC poll suggests that liberals, moderates and independent voters are coalescing around Democratic candidates in California. Here is analysis from the Times:

“I like the little guy; [Jerry Brown] didn’t have the money behind him like she did … We don’t shop at Walmart. We shop at the local store. He just seemed like more of a down-home candidate.That message that they’re sending to people is a very bad choice. We’re looking to people to act their values rather than throw money at causes. People are holding their money really closely and those candidates are really splurging.”
– Paula Bennett, a registered Republican, explaining in an interview with the Times why she is voting for Democrats Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer

[Jerry] Brown, the Democratic attorney general and former governor, led Whitman 52 percent to 39 percent among likely voters, the poll found. His advantage has more than doubled since a Times/USC poll in September.

The abrupt movement in the race for governor came as Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer held onto her 8-point margin over Republican Carly Fiorina in the U.S. Senate contest. Boxer’s 50 percent to 42 percent lead was statistically unchanged from September’s 51 percent to 43 percent edge.

For both Democrats, the month between the two polls found the party’s strongest supporters rallying to the candidates’ sides: liberals, women and Latinos either solidified or expanded their backing for Brown and Boxer. Nonpartisan voters, whom Republicans had counted on to overcome the Democratic advantage in voter registration, moved away from the two Republican candidates, and moderate voters also tilted toward the Democrats…

Most of the nation has seen pronounced enthusiasm by Republican voters as the midterm elections approach. In California, however, Democrats have gained strength and GOP motivation has ebbed slightly in the last month, the poll showed. The current standings represent a reassertion of a more typical profile for the state after an election year convulsed by a foundering economy, widespread discontent about the future and record-breaking spending by Whitman, who has dropped more than $141 million of her own money into her campaign.

CA Gov: Reports Show Whitman Has Spent $163 Mil, Brown $25 Mil

Jon Ponder

$163,000,000

Amount Republican billionaire Meg Whitman has spent on her campaign for governor of California, so far. By contrast, Democratic candidate Jerry Brown has spent $25 million. But money can’t buy you love, as the song said — Brown has led Whitman in every poll taken since Labor Day, at least, and Whitman’s favorability rating was under 40 percent in a recent Los Angeles Times poll.

Poll: 62% of Californians Don’t Like GOP – Dem Brown Up By 8 in Gov Race, Sen. Boxer up by 5

Jon Ponder
Most striking, only 55 percent of registered Republicans have a favorable impression of the GOP; 39 percent look on it unfavorably. By contrast, 75 percent of Democrats are favorably impressed with their party.

A new poll from the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California finds that Democrat Jerry Brown leads Republican Meg Whitman by eight points — 44 percent to 36 percent — and Sen. Barbara Boxer leads her GOP opponent by five points 43 percent to 38 percent.

The survey also found that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a 29 percent job approval.

Why are California Republicans trailing in a year when the GOP and its tea party base are said to be ascendant in the rest of the country? Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton suggests it is because they are Republicans:

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CA Gov: Whitman-Harsh Outspending Brown 14 to 1, Has Spent $140 Mil, So Far

Jon Ponder

14 to 1

Rate at which Meg Whitman-Harsh, the GOP billionaire running for governor of California, is outspending her Democratic rival, Attorney General Jerry Brown. The Whitman campaign had spent more than $140 million as Sept. 30, while the Brown campaign had spent just $10 million. Nonetheless, Brown has a five point lead in most polls.

Dems’ California Firewall Expands – Brown, Boxer Both Up by 9 Points in CNN Poll

Jon Ponder

The new CNN poll finds leads for Democrats in the California races for governor and senator.

In the governor’s race, Democrat Jerry Brown, the state’s attorney general and former governor, leads billionaire former eBay executive Meg Whitman, 52 percent to 43 percent among likely voters. Brown has a 13 point advantage among registered voters, 52 percent to 39 percent.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, seeking a fourth term, leads former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, by the same ratio, 52 percent to 43 percent. Among registered voters, Boxer’s lead widens to 19 points, 56 percent to 37 percent.

This is the first poll in which either candidate for governor has been above 50 percent in recent weeks. It is Boxer’s second 50-plus percent result.

The CNN poll is also the fourth consecutive poll that shows the Democrats ahead in California.

Dems Building Firewall in California? Brown, Boxer Leading – U.S. House Generic Poll Gives Dems 13 Point Advantage Statewide

Jon Ponder

In the race for California governor, Democrat Jerry Brown, the state’s attorney general and former governor, has led billionaire former eBay executive Meg Whitman slightly in three out of four recent polls and the fourth was a tie. In the Senate race, Democrat Barbara Boxer has seen her lead over the Republican candidate, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, grow incrementally in three recent polls.

Results from the new Los Angeles Times/USC poll out today show that, in the race for governor, Brown is ahead by 5 points, 49 percent to 44 percent. Whitman has spent $120 million of her money on her campaign, so far, while Brown has only spent what amounts to a fraction of that.

While generic polls on House races nationwide show the parties even or Republicans a few points ahead, in California Dems lead in the generic by 13 points, with 51 percent for Democrats and 38 percent for Republicans.

The same poll found that Boxer’s lead over Fiorina appears to be expanding when compared with other recent polls. In the Times poll, Boxer is ahead by 8 points, 51 percent to 43 percent. (Boxer’s 51 percent represents the first time any of the four candidates for the two big offices has been over 50 percent in the past few weeks.)

A SurveyUSA poll [PDF] conducted on Sept. 19 for a consortium of local TV news channels statewide, including KABC in Los Angeles, found Brown with 46 percent and Whitman with 43 percent.

The same poll put Boxer at 49 percent and Fiorina at 43 percent — the same result Fiorina received in the new Times poll. (This was a reversal from the previous SurveyUSA poll, which had Fiorina in the lead 48-46.)

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CA Gov: Brown Gives Voters a Dose of Reality, Contrasts Whitman’s Platinum Plated Bombast

Jon Ponder

It’s probably because I’m numb from the constant barrage of Meg Whitman ads — and I don’t mean to oversell it — but this new ad from Jerry Brown is, I have to say it, refreshing. Here’s the transcript:

Our state is in a real mess. And I’m not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don’t go anywhere. We have to make some tough decisions. We have to live within our means, we’ve got to take the power from the state capital and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. And no new taxes without voter approval. We’ve got to pull together not as Republicans or as Democrats, but as Californians first. And at this stage in my life, I’m prepared to do exactly that.

CA Gov: After Refusing to Pull False Ad about Brown, Whitman Threatens to Sue Teachers over Ad Charging She’d Cut $7 Bil from Schools

Jon Ponder

Last week, when Democrat Jerry Brown demanded that Meg Whitman, his Republican opponent in the California governor’s race, pull an ad that was based on a lie about his tax record, her campaign spokesman scoffed at the idea, saying, “That’s ridiculous.”

His reaction is telling in light of the fact that a representative from the California Department of Finance had confirmed to reporters that, based on nonpartisan analysis, the Whitman was indeed a lie:

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CA Gov: State Agency Says Whitman Ad Claiming Brown Raised Taxes Is False – Whitman Refuses to Take Ad Down

Jon Ponder

Los Angeles Times:

A claim in a Meg Whitman television ad that state taxes went up when Democratic rival Jerry Brown was governor from 1975 to 1983 is false, according to the state Department of Finance.

“Taxes went down, by this yardstick, yes,” said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the department, who added that the figures are the result of an impartial, nonpartisan analysis of the data. “The data you have in front of you does not have an R suffix or a D suffix after them. The Department of Finance calculated these numbers in a consistent manner over Republican and Democratic administrations.”

…Brown took office in January 1975, midway through the 1974-75 fiscal year. The first budget under his command covered the 1975-76 fiscal year. The CNN report appeared to use the 1973-74 year at its baseline.

According to Department of Finance data available in 1992, total state taxes when Brown took office were $7.03 per every $100 in income. He left office in January 1983, so his last budget covered the 1982-83 fiscal year. Taxes then were $6.83 per every $100 in income.

The Whitman campaign rebuffed Brown campaign demands that they stop running the false ad. “That’s ridiculous,” said Whitman spokesman Darrel Ng.

Schwarzenegger’s Failure Provides a Cautionary Tale about Electing Novices in Times of Crisis

Jon Ponder

Scharzenegger, in cockier times
Scharzenegger, in cockier times
It’s true that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be leaving Sacramento in disgrace in January, and the Washington Post gets it right that the genesis of his failure lies in the fact that he was a political novice and outsider — just like the current Republican candidate to take his place:

After nearly six years in office, Schwarzenegger has few friends left in either party. The state budget deficit hovers around $20 billion; his approval rating has sunk below 25 percent.

“We thought he was going to be a great governor, but he has been a great disappointment,” said Geneviève M. Clavreul, a Republican activist.

As candidates in races across the country try to position themselves as the politician with the least political experience, Schwarzenegger’s troubles in California illustrate some of the possible downsides of outsiderdom. Like Whitman, the GOP’s candidate for governor, and Fiorina, the party’s Senate nominee, Schwarzenegger came to office as a non-politician who would solve problems with unconventional ideas.

He had some successes, but the movie star stumbled as he tried to navigate the state’s political establishment, with its touchy egos and endless compromises. He floundered as he tried to tame the state’s runaway budget and push through ambitious reforms such as universal health care.

“Touchy egos?” — please. This man spent his career in Hollywood, where dealing with egomaniacs is the price of admission. And while Schwarzenegger may not be “touchy,” he is saddled with an over-sized ego himself — where do you think he got the foolish notion that he could govern California?

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