CA-Gov, CA-Sen: SurveyUSA Sees Small GOP Leads

SurveyUSA for KABC, KPIX, KGTV, and KFSN (pdf) (8/9-11, likely voters, 7/8-11 in parentheses):

Barbara Boxer (D-inc): 42 (45)

Carly Fiorina (R): 47 (47)

Other: 5 (3)

Undecided: 5 (5)

Jerry Brown (D): 43 (39)

Meg Whitman (R): 44 (46)

Other: 6 (7)

Undecided: 6 (8)

(MoE: ±4.1%)

SurveyUSA continues to put up odd numbers in California: Meg Whitman over Jerry Brown by a point, yeah, that’s on the pessimistic side compared with other pollsters but certainly feasible. But Carly Fiorina beating Barbara Boxer by 5, with trendlines going completely the opposite direction from the Dem-trending gubernatorial race? SurveyUSA is not only the only pollster to have ever given Fiorina a lead, but also the only pollster to recently show conservative, HP-destroying, money-limited Fiorina performing better against Boxer than the more moderate, more-acclaimed CEO, more-money-than-God Whitman against Brown. Well, all we can do is throw it on the pile with the rest of the polls; if nothing else, it’ll smooth out that PPP poll that was +9 Boxer a couple weeks ago, which may have been a little too optimistic.

They also include some downballot issues, where Dems seem to be at an advantage (which makes the pro-Fiorina tilt of this poll seem even weirder). Gavin Newsom narrowly leads GOP incumbent Abel Maldonado 43-42 in the Lt. Governor race, and they find Proposition 19, which would legalize and tax the use of marijuana, passing by a fairly broad 50-40 margin.