Former television personality Steve Hilton has gained a narrow lead in the California gubernatorial primary, where the top two candidates—regardless of party—will advance to the general election.
A recent poll commissioned by the California Issues Forum, an organization aligned with moderate Democratic interests, found that Hilton leads Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Representative Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who are tied at 17%. Hilton holds a one-percentage-point advantage over Bianco in the survey.
If Hilton and Bianco finish first and second in the primary, both Republicans would advance to the general election, benefiting from the wealth of Democrat candidates diluting their party’s vote. Such an outcome would position California for the first time since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011 to elect a Republican governor.
Swalwell entered the governor’s race in late November and quickly overtook former Democrat Representative Katie Porter as the Democratic front-runner after Porter faced unflattering videos that appeared to show her berating junior staff members and struggling to answer follow-up questions from a journalist.
The FM3 Research poll was conducted from November 30 through December 7 among 821 likely voters. A margin of error was not provided.
