SACRAMENTO – Democrat John Garamendi and Republican Tom McClintock are tied in the race for lieutenant governor, while Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has expanded his large lead over Republican state Sen. Charles Poochigian in his bid for attorney general, according to the latest Field Poll.
The nonpartisan poll also shows that Republican businessman Steve Poizner has opened up a nine-point lead over Democrat Cruz Bustamante, the lieutenant governor, in the race for state insurance commissioner, 46 percent to 37 percent.
In the race for secretary of state, state Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, leads Republican incumbent Bruce McPherson, 40 percent to 34 percent.
In the contest for controller, Democrat John Chiang, a Board of Equalization member, leads Republican Tony Strickland, a former Assemblyman, 38 percent to 31 percent.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, has a large lead over Board of Equalization member Claude Parrish, a Republican, 45 percent to 26 percent, for treasurer.
The race for lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial office with few duties, features two veterans, Garamendi, the termed-out insurance commissioner, and McClintock, a state senator from Thousand Oaks.
Garamendi has support from 44 percent of likely voters, while McClintock is favored by 43 percent. Thirteen percent of voters are undecided.
Both have strong support from their base: 81 percent of Republicans back McClintock, while 73 percent of Democrats support Garamendi. Garamendi leads among nonpartisan voters, 47 percent to 32 percent.
Former Gov. Brown has opened up his lead for attorney general, 56 percent to 31 percent over Poochigian. In September, the Field Poll had Brown leading 45 percent to 30 percent.
Brown has support from 83 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of nonpartisan voters and 22 percent of Republicans. Poochigian has support from 64 percent of Republicans, 20 percent of nonpartisan voters and just 8 percent of Democrats.
The poll, based on interviews with 795 likely voters, was conducted between Oct. 23 and Monday. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
