Posted on 03/18/2002 11:46:43 AM PST by kattracks
Bill Simon, the California Republican gubernatorial candidate the experts said couldn't beat former LA mayor Dick Riordan in the March 5 primary, and would lose badly if he ever had to face Governor Gray Davis in November, is now a whopping seven points ahead of Davis a new poll shows.
According to Public Opinion Strategies Inc. (POS), a nationally recognized political polling firm retained by the Simon camp, Simon leads with 48 percent to Davis' 41 percent.
Even more bad news for Davis - fully 50 percent of California voters have an unfavorable opinion of him.
Despite expert opinions that Davis would be unbeatable in a race against the conservative Simon, the poll revealed that Gray Davis is extremely vulnerable in his re-election campaign, and that California voters are looking for new leadership according to the Simon campaign.
Breakdowns of the poll show:
- That among women, a group allegedly hostile to Simon, he actually leads Davis by a 46 percent to 43 percent margin. Among men Simon leads Davis 51 percent to 39 percent.
- Davis' heavily criticized record as California's Governor has even diminished his support among his fellow Democrats. While 81% of Republicans support Simon, Davis gets the support of merely 63% of Democrats.
- Pro-Simon supporters are more solid in their backing of the conservative businessman than pro-Davis supporters are of their man. 71% of Republicans strongly support Simon while only 48% of Democrats are solid in their support of Davis.
- Simon's strong showing is statewide. He leads in every media market of the state except San Francisco.
Among the major media markets Simon's lead is dramatic:
SAN DIEGO SIMON 57% DAVIS 33%
SACRAMENTO SIMON 52% DAVIS 34%
LOS ANGELES SIMON 49% DAVIS 40%
SAN FRANCISCO SIMON 38% DAVIS 54%
According to Simon campaign spokesmen, Davis image problems and poor job performance have only 36% of voters saying they want to re-elect him," the Simon campaign says "A startling 55% of voters said 'a new person should be elected Governor of California.' Historically when such a number is higher than 50%, it has foreshadowed a resounding defeat for the incumbent on Election Day."
"The primary election campaign which focused on Bill Simon as the candidate of ideas has resonated well with California voters," said Simon' campaign chief strategist, Sal Russo. "While Gray Davis is focused on blaming everybody else for his failed leadership, voters are responding to Bill Simon's message of ideas for solving California's problems."
The pressure of a failing campaign on a beleaguered Davis' may be getting to him. In an interview with the San Diego Union Tribune last Thursday in response to questions about his handling of the state's energy crisis he snapped: "I kept the lights on. And this sounds a little presumptuous, but I think I should at least get a round of applause. I don't get squat."
When told that the main criticism against him is that he panicked and signed long-term contracts at a very high cost Davis erupted.
"If I didn't panic, you wouldn't be able to put out your paper. I saved this friggin' paper. I kept the lights on in this state. Do you understand that? I kept the lights on."
For Davis, a full seven months before the November election, the lights may already be going out for his re-election hopes.
Thanks for the post, kat.
Yes, but amazingly none of his fingers seem to be sitting on the triggers! While the grip he's using is still pretty dumb (proper grip is with index finger straight) it's better than what one usually sees from DiFi et al.
After I last posted, I realized that most every politician I've seen posing with a gun has been a liberal. I can't think of any conservative, pro gun politicians who walk around brandishing weapons and trying to talk tough. Maybe there are some, but I just can't think of any. Ironic, isn't it?
We need more articles convincing Davis he's ahead and has nothing to worry about, NOT this "Reality" stuff...
Keep one thing in mind - Davis has somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 illegal votes in hand. These are votes from the illegal residents who have signed up as part of the "motor voter" fraud; the dead who have never been taken off of the voter roles in the big, democratic cities; the multiple families who variously occupy several residences; and the abentee voter con artists (ballot thieves).
I want Simon and the other conservative candidates to win, but it is going to be an uphill fight all the way.
Of course they are. Every single one of these idiots is either from the northeast themselves,or are based there. This area is totally dominated by either Marxist Dims or Rockefeller/Country Club/Compassionate Conservative Republicans. This is a area when the average elected politician is slightly to the left of Castro,and that actually considers leftists like Guiliani to be "right-wingers" who "need to run as being more moderate than they are to win". You KNOW they are going to panic when they run across a REAL conservative.
The lessons of the elections of 1994 were totally ignored by these people because they can't accept that as a reality and still call themselves the "leaders and thinkers".
Not to mention the deceased democrats vote, the deceased illegal alien vote, the potential illegal alien vote (those who are planning to cross the border but have not done so), and the duplicate illegal alien vote (those who vote at two different polling stations). These votes have been known to swing a few elections in LA.
POS has also done polls for the Coleman camp in MN and Thune camp in SD. It seems to be an exclusive GOP firm. But there's another poll out recently showing a marginal Simon lead as well. Bump for Bill!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.