Posted on 01/14/2004 11:49:56 PM PST by calcowgirl
Former local lawmaker Howard Kaloogian, who played a leading role in last year's recall of former Gov. Gray Davis, is running second in the race for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a poll released today.
But Kaloogian, a San Marcos conservative who formerly served in the state Assembly, is running well behind front-runner and former Secretary of State Bill Jones, who has the support of 17 percent of Republican voters.
Trailing Jones, in order, were Kaloogian (5 percent), former Los Altos Hills Mayor Toni Casey (3 percent) and former Huntington Park Mayor Rosario Marin (2 percent).
However, with 73 percent of party voters undecided, the March 2 primary is up for grabs. The winner gets a shot at liberal Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in November.
The statewide poll was conducted Jan. 3 through Sunday by the San Francisco-based Public Policy Institute of California, through telephone interviews with 2,002 adults in English and Spanish.
"I am not surprised, but I am very pleased," Kaloogian said. "Rosario Marin and Toni Casey have both been out there spending money, campaigning and beating the bushes for six months, and I'm ahead of them."
For Kaloogian, results come just days after he captured an endorsement from Ron Prince, author of controversial Proposition 187, which sought to eliminate public services for immigrants who were in California illegally. Also this week, Kaloogian criticized President Bush's initiative to grant legal status to the nation's illegal immigrants.
The poll also found that:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $15 billion deficit bond is in trouble: 35 percent of voters support Proposition 57, while 44 percent oppose it.
And that is despite Schwarzenegger's flattering 64 percent approval rating.
"Popularity doesn't necessarily translate into influence," said Mark Baldassare, poll director. "Voters have to like the message, not just the messenger. Given the bitter residue of this past year's financial fiasco, they are understandably wary about incurring more debt."
Schwarzenegger's companion Proposition 58 has a better chance of passing. The so-called Balanced Budget Act, which would limit state spending to 97 percent of forecast revenues and set up a state reserve, enjoys 57 percent support, with opposition from just 22 percent of likely voters. However, the initiative is married to Prop. 57 and won't take effect unless the bond passes.
Lacking majority support was Proposition 56, the measure that would lower lawmakers' voting threshold from 66.6 percent (two-thirds) to 55 percent for passing state budgets and raising taxes. Forty-one percent would vote yes and 35 percent would vote no. A quarter of voters were undecided.
However, 73 percent of voters said making two-thirds of state lawmakers agree on a spending plan was a good idea.
Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-3529 or ddowney@nctimes.com.
PPIC Statewide Survey:
Special Survey on California's Fiscal System, January 2004
Mark Baldassare
38 pp.
Jones is not nearly as attractive a candidate. I don't think he has what it will take when it comes to defeating Boxer. Kaloogian comes off well in media and IMHO has the stones to take on Boxer in a brawl. Were I you, I would take the opportunity at this early stage to compare the two objectively.
He's little known except among the people who do the groundwork of campaigning, where he's a hero. Remember, Kaloogian was instrumental in organizing the recall.
Jones was elected twice, narrowly, as Secretary of State.
And was crushed by a little known Bill Simon in the gubernatorial primary. The grass roots are powerful in this State party, whether Parsky/Sundheim like it or not.
He has been raking in the money and the endorsements.
Money, yes, Party money... just like Riordan did.
I would support Kaloogian if he was in the same position.
We'll see what "position" looks like in a month or two.
I am particularly interested in how Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would not be governor today without Howard Kaloogian, could ignore a man who was instrumental to his opportunity in favor of one who was worthless during the recall signature drive. Further, given Jones support of McCain, it's a slap on the Bush people who put the folks in the State GOP in place who backed Arnolds candidacy. It doesn't seem Arnold puts much stock in the "dance with them that brung ya" loyalty that the Bush people expect.
Finally, given Jones support of that 1991 tax increase, the party base has no love for the man. He'll need every dime of that money because he'll find it hard to assemble a ground game in this State, which is critical to a primary victory.
Name names. If every time we took that attitude, there would be no reason for politics. We could just sit on our hands and let the system tell us who will lead. I would suggest you investigate the numbers as put forward by the Leadership Institute, because you don't seem to understand the power of your own opinion.
Let's see how this race pans out, then unite behind the winner.
I didn't know about the underlined part. If it's true that the failure of the bond (Prop 57) would prevent the Trojan horse (Prop 58) from taking effect, then that's great news.
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