It’s never too early to speculate on the race for California governor. Fresh of the 2016 presidential election, The Field Poll released a poll of likely contenders for the 2018 race. The early front-runner is Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. That is not surprising. What may be is that Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin ranks third.
Being this early, “undecided” leads with a quarter of the 600 registered voters sampled. Newsom leads among those who are decided, with 23, followed by San Diego Mayor Kevin Falconer at 16. Swearengin is third at 11. The latter two are the only Republicans named in the poll.
Name
Total
Gavin Newsom (D)
23%
Kevin Falconer (R)
16
Ashley Swearengin (R)
11
Eric Garcetti (D)
7
Antonio Villaraigosa (D)
6
Tom Steyer (D)
5
Alex Padilla (D)
4
John Chiang (D)
2
Steve Westley (D)
1
Undecided
25
Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, has long been regarded as the heir apparent to Gov. Jerry Brown, who will termed out after 2018. He is the pick over fellow Democrats Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles mayor), Antonio Villaraigosa (former Los Angeles mayor and state legislator), Tom Steyer (billionaire Bay Area political activist), Alex Padilla (California Secretary of State), John Chiang (California Treasurer) and Steve Westley (former California Controller).
The Field Poll notes that when party affiliations are omitted from the question, Newsom remains in the lead by 12 points over second place Garcetti (21-9%), but Falconer drops to 6% and Swearengin finished 8th of 9 with 3%.
UC Berkeley also helped conduct the survey.
Curiosity drives David Taub.
The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices.
Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read.
Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man).
Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl.
When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games.
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue!
You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email
