The election is just days away and according to a new Field Poll, former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman has a 26-point lead over state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in California's GOP primary race for governor.
The poll released Friday finds Whitman has the support of 51 percent of likely Republican voters, compared to Poizner's 25 percent. About 18 percent are undecided ahead of Tuesday's election.
It says Whitman's lead holds among all subgroups surveyed, including age, gender, religion and region of the state.
It seems Whitman's ads with the "Poizner is a Liberal" tone are working. The poll shows she's favored among all subgroups, including those who identify with the tea party movement and those who describe themselves as born-again Christians.
Poizner's lack of support even with those who label themselves as conservatives "really represents a failure of his campaign to bring home what were supposed to be his strongest constituencies," poll director Mark DiCamillo said.
Both candidates are independently wealthy and have been pouring money into the race from their personal fortunes. The race between Whitman, a billionaire, and Poizner, a multimillionaire, has already broken spending records for a primary election in California. Whitman has spent more than $81 million on the race so far, $71 million of it from her bank account, while Poizner has given his campaign $25 million.
The winner will face Democrat Jerry Brown, the state's attorney general and former two-term governor, who is seeking to return to his former job at age 72.
Friday's poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. It was conducted from May 27 to June 2.
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