Although former vice president Kamala Harris has not yet made up her mind about running for governor of California next year, a new survey released on Wednesday indicates that voters would support her if she did.
According to a University of California, Irvine poll, 41% of survey respondents chose Harris, while 29% chose an unidentified Republican candidate, despite the fact that many voters were still uncertain. In addition, she is the most well-known of all the stated contenders and has the highest favorability ratings.
According to a statement from Jon Gould, dean of UCI’s School of Social Ecology, Vice President Harris appears to have a clear route to governor if she chooses to run. Despite her current lack of majority support, she is more well-known than the other contenders and is usually seen favorably.
Just 5% of Californians had never heard of Harris, compared to a much higher percentage of respondents—including those who had previously run for statewide office—who had never heard of any of the other announced candidates. 47% of survey participants had never heard of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who campaigned for governor in 2018; 48% had never heard of former Representative Katie Porter of Irvine, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024.
The poll found that Harris was the only candidate to reach double digits, with 24% of voters choosing him over other candidates who had already made their announcements. However, the survey found that 40% of participants were unsure.
California
A sizable and varied field of candidates has already emerged for the open contest to replace Gavin Newsom as governor of California.
Harris garnered almost half the support of Democrats, who make up 47% of the state’s voters as of February, compared to single-digit support for all other stated candidates. According to the poll, Harris was the most popular candidate among Californians across all racial and geographic groups.
With the support of 27% of survey participants, GOP voters supported billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, a Democrat who lost his bid for mayor of Los Angeles in 2022 and is allegedly considering running for governor or mayor again.
Several contenders in the crowded field of candidates who have already launched their bids have criticized Harris’s decision to wait until the end of the summer to determine whether to enter the race. Harris’ representatives did not reply to a request for comment.
Politics
Kamala Harris, the former vice president, says she won’t decide whether to run until the end of the summer.
In two independent online surveys, held between May 27 and June 2 and May 29 and June 4, 4,143 Californians participated in the statewide survey. According to UCI, the margin of error in either direction is from 2.9% to 3.6%.
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