Field Poll: Nonpartisan Office the Only Competitive Statewide Race in Calif.

image
Author: Steve Baker
Created: 31 Oct, 2014
Updated: 15 Oct, 2022
1 min read

Election Day 2014 is less than a week away and the season's last Field Poll for California statewide races shows Democrats leading most of the races.

Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown (D) is currently enjoying a strong lead. His opponent, Neel Kashkari (R), has struggled to build support outside of strong and moderate conservatives. Both candidates have considerable weight amongst their respective political parties, but amongst voters with no party preference (NPP), Governor Brown leads 59 percent to Kashkari's 22 percent -- a difference of 37 percentage points.

Further down the ballot, NPP voters hold the key for the next state superintendent of public instruction. The poll shows the race deadlocked between incumbent Tom Torlakson and challenger Marshall Tuck. Each candidate maintains the support of  28 percent of likely voters. A sample of the state's 4 million (23 percent) NPP voters favored Torlakson slightly over Tuck -- 31 percent to 28 percent, respectively.

Forty-four percent of voters report being undecided thus far, making the superintendent's race one of the biggest question marks going into Tuesday.

Here are the likely voter preferences for California statewide races:

Governor

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Lt. Governor

Attorney General

Secretary of State

Controller

Treasurer

Insurance Commissioner

Photo Credit: American Spirit / shutterstock.com

Latest articles

A judge's gavel.
Super PAC Spending Tops $49 Million in Most Expensive State Judicial Election in History
According to Buying Time 2025 election spending data as of March 26, 2025, more than $81.4 million has been spent on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel, making it the most expensive state judicial election in US history. ...
27 Mar, 2025
-
4 min read
Man holding his head sitting at a table.
Landmark Legislation Introduced to Address Mental Health Crisis Among Correctional Officers
On the second anniversary of Federal Correctional Officer Blake Schwarz’s death by suicide, an Iowa congresswoman has reintroduced a significant bill aimed at combating the ongoing mental health crisis among correctional officers....
26 Mar, 2025
-
2 min read
American institutions.
Chuck Todd: When It Comes to Public Mistrust in Institutions, The Parties Just Don't Get It
Last week, the national election reform group Open Primaries held a Zoom conversation with former Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd to discuss voters' growing mistrust in American institutions. It was part of the group's ongoing Primary Buzz Discussion Series. ...
26 Mar, 2025
-
3 min read