In the race for US Senate, Republican challenger Carly Fiorina finishes with her lowest poll numbers of the campaign, down from 48% 2 months ago to 38% today. Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer ends at 46%. Boxer has polled at 46% or higher in 5 of 8 SurveyUSA tracks. Boxer leads by 8 among those interviewed on their home phones, leads by 22 among CPO's, trails by 6 among those who have both cell and home phones. When the three groups are proportionally blended, Boxer leads by 8. If the percentage of CPO voters is less than the 19% SurveyUSA models here, Fiorina will outperform these numbers. If the percentage of CPO voters is greater than the 19% SurveyUSA models here, Boxer will outperform these numbers.
In the race for Lieutenant Governor, the contest remains close among those who tell SurveyUSA they have already voted, with Democrat Gavin Newsom's support heavier among those who have not yet returned a ballot. When the two groups are blended, the Democrat leads 42% to 35%. Incumbent Republican Abel Maldonado runs strong in the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, but trails the Democrat in the more populated regions of the state. Newsom has narrow advantages among both men and women, young and old.
In the race for Governor, Republican Meg Whitman ends at 37%, her lowest support in 8 tracking polls going back 4 months. Democrat Jerry Brown ends at 48%, his highest support in 8 tracking polls going back 4 months. Among those with a college degree, Whitman started 6 ahead of Brown, ends 12 behind, an 18-point swing during the campaign. In July, Whitman and Brown were even among California's moderates. At the wire, Brown ends with a 5:3 advantage.
Filtering: Using both RDD landline and cellphone sample from Survey Sampling, SurveyUSA interviewed 850 California adults 10/26/10 through 10/31/10. Cellphones, as always, were hand-dialed. Of the adults, 692 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 587 were determined by SurveyUSA to have already voted or to be likely to vote in the 11/02/10 general election. Early voting began 10/04/10. "CPO" = Cell Phone Only, respondents who do not have a home phone and who make and receive phone calls with a cell phone. "Both" = respondents who have both a cell phone and a home phone but for this survey were interviewed on their cell phone by a live operator who dialed the call by hand. "Home Phone" = respondents who were interviewed on their home phone with the recorded-voice of a professional announcer. 40% of the likely voters interviewed for this survey were contacted and interviewed entirely by live operator, 60% of likely voters were contacted and interviewed using recorded voice. CPO respondents account for 19% of likely voters. CPO voters are the least predictable to pollsters. If CPO voters turn-out in smaller numbers than here shown, Democrats and "Yes" will under-perform these numbers, Republicans and "No" will out-perform these numbers.
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=be46a92b-9a28-456a-90d1-84e9bb60cd4a