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California Governor: Angelides (D) 46%, Schwarzenegger (R) 44% Competitive Gubernatorial Race, Lopsided Senate Race Our first election poll here since California's June 6 primaries shows the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Phil Angelides, with a narrow lead of 46% to 44% over the incumbent. Our April survey had shown Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opening up a substantial lead over the Democratic contenders, but by May the race had tightened once again. Immigration, health care and taxes are among the issues that have emerged in the campaign. Meanwhile, in the race for U.S. Senate Democratic incumbent Dianne Feinstein continues to amble to reelection,...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s strategy against Democratic challenger Phil Angelides continues to unfold, off the air and on, as a new private poll by a major pollster unaffiliated with either campaign shows Schwarzenegger in the lead, 49 percent to 39 percent. The poll of nearly a thousand likely voters was completed last week. While Schwarzenegger works to translate his increased job approval among Latinos into electoral support and puts together a plan to revive the prison system, his all-important TV advertising strategy marches on across the airwaves around the state. His strategy is working. The four-point lead he enjoyed in mid-June...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, winning back voters with a series of moves including helping gain agreement on a $131 billion budget with increased money for education, is in strong position to win re-election in November, a poll released today shows. Schwarzenegger is favored over his Democratic challenger, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, by 44 percent to 37 percent among state voters in the poll by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University. Fourteen percent of those surveyed are undecided. The governor's job approval rating has jumped to 49 percent among voters surveyed compared with 41 percent who disapprove...

Incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger is the top contender in California’s gubernatorial race, according to the latest poll by Zogby Interactive. 49 per cent of respondents in the Golden State would vote for Schwarzenegger, while 41 per cent would support Democrat Phil Angelides.

Republican Governor Candidates Mount Strong Challenges by John ZogbyPosted Jun 23, 2006 Audio commentary by John Zogby available now.Reports earlier this year of the death of the Republican congressional majority in Washington may have been premature, but the GOP remains on its sickbed heading into the busy summer campaign season, new polling numbers from Zogby Interactive show.But while Democrats appear to have the upper hand in Senate races, the GOP has a chance to steal two key races for governor. Freshmen Democrats Rod Blagojevich of Illinois and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan are both in trouble, deadlocked against GOP challengers who...

The statewide poll showed 46 percent of voters surveyed last month disapproved of the job he's doing, an improvement of 10 percentage points from his low point in October. Thirteen percent had no opinion. Forty-one percent of voters approved of Schwarzenegger's job performance, 5 percentage points higher than in August, which was his lowest approval mark. Voters also continued to hold a negative view of the Legislature, with 51 percent of voters disapproving of the job they're doing while just 26 percent approved. The poll found that voters support four infrastructure bond proposals on the November general election ballot.

Adding some needed oomph to Treasurer Phil Angelides' down-in-the-polls campaign for governor, California Democratic Party delegates voted Saturday to endorse him over opponent Steve Westly. And it wasn't close. Angelides received 67.2 percent of the delegate vote, compared to 28.1 percent for Westly late Saturday, the same day a Los Angeles Times poll showed Westly with a 13-point lead among likely Democratic primary voters. Now, Angelides heads into the June Primary with bragging rights. It was the first time the party had bestowed a pre-primary endorsement in a contested governor's race in 16 years. Voting took place Saturday evening, and...

April 17, 2006--For the first time in Election 2006, Governor Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has opened a significant lead over his Democratic challengers.The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll in California shows Schwarzenegger leading State Treasurer Phil Angelides (D) by double digits, 49% to 36%. The candidates had been neck-and-neck in our previous polls.The Governor leads State Comptroller Steve Westly (D) 48% to 40%. Schwarzenegger and Westly were essentially even in March. In February, Schwarzenegger led Westly 39% to 34%.This is the first Rasmussen Reports election poll of the season in California where the incumbent has come even close to the...

With Republicans rallying to his cause, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has reclaimed a little more of his once-astronomical popularity, but winning re-election could still prove to be a tough slog. A poll released Tuesday by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University saw Schwarzenegger's approval rating climb to 45 percent among voters, up from 39 percent in January. Most of that momentum is fueled by higher rankings among the GOP faithful, some of whom had been alienated by the Republican governor's more centrist actions, and Democratic hires, since last year's failed special election. But Republicans seem to...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger holds a solid lead over either Democratic challenger in a head-to-head battle in the November election, at least among those who have a preference, but 30 percent of likely voters remain undecided, according to a nonpartisan poll released today. The survey, by the Public Policy Institute of California, is wide ranging but a theme emerges: The news is good, or at least better, for the governor on virtually all fronts - and it's clear his two Democratic challengers have a lot of work to do. One-on-one, Schwarzenegger holds an 8 percentage point advantage...

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – There is no clear favourite in the Golden State’s gubernatorial ballot, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents would vote for Democratic state treasurer Phil Angelides, while 44 per cent would support Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger. In an election pitting Schwarzenegger against state controller Steve Westly, the Democrat also holds a one-point edge. The Democratic nomination will be decided in a primary ballot on Jun. 6. Schwarzenegger—a Republican—won California’s recall election in October 2003 with 48.7 per cent of the vote. In November 2005, California voters took part in a...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Just 37 percent of California's likely voters are inclined to re-elect Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November, a huge drop from a year ago, according to a poll released Thursday. But the statewide Field Poll also found the Republican governor running competitively against each of the Democrats vying for their party's nomination in the June primary. State Treasurer Phil Angelides and state Controller Steve Westly are largely unknown around the state, and about two-thirds of voters had no opinion of either one, according to the poll. Still, the numbers signaled a difficult re-election campaign for Schwarzenegger, already disadvantaged...

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is losing the support of Republicans, according to a new poll released on the eve of the state Republican convention in San Jose at which conservative activists are expected to challenge his more moderate direction. The governor's popularity appeared to be growing last month, following a conciliatory State of the State address in which he announced an ambitious plan to upgrade the state's aging infrastructure. But this month his numbers have reversed, mostly due to erosion of his Republican base. Schwarzenegger's approval rating fell to 35 percent among adults in the Public Policy Institute of...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approval rating is showing signs of recovery after tumbling late last year, according to a poll released Thursday. The new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California found Schwarzenegger's job approval among likely voters climbed from 38 percent in October to 45 percent in January. The poll is good news for the governor, who faces a tough re-election campaign this year. But the rebound is modest compared to where he was a year ago, when he enjoyed a 60 percent approval rating among voters. The governor's standing has improved among Democrats and independents but he's still...

The poll found 60 percent of adults satisfied with the budget proposal, while 28 percent said they were dissatisfied. Among Republicans, 72 percent said they liked the proposal while 21 percent did not. Just more than half of Democrats _ 51 percent _ were satisfied with it, while 36 percent were not. Among independents, 62 percent were satisfied while 29 percent were not.

A recent poll shows the born-again "moderate" Republican governor has gained back some popularity, especially in the Bay Area, and is now in a dead heat with Democratic competitors. "Our survey demonstrates that Schwarzenegger's retreat from the more conservative rhetoric and agenda he brandished during the latter part of 2005 has paid off among middle-of-the road voters," said Melinda Jackson, director of the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University. The governor's job performance rating among voters in a Democrat-leaning state has climbed from 36 percent positive and 53 percent negative in September, to 40 percent positive...

The poll, released Thursday from the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University, is the first sign that Schwarzenegger's recent moves to reposition himself in the political center are paying off. It found that Schwarzenegger's standing has improved most among Democrats and independent voters. Those groups comprise two-thirds of California's registered voters but generally opposed the governor's agenda for the November special election. 40% of voters statewide said they approve of the job Schwarzenegger is doing, with 51 percent saying they disapprove. That's slightly better than the 36 percent approval rating he received in the university's September...