(KRON/NEXSTAR) — Democratic Representative Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) has expanded his lead while Republican hopeful Steve Garvey has climbed into second in the race to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s U.S. Senate seat, according to the latest poll.
In a new Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics poll, a quarter of voters surveyed support Rep. Schiff’s campaign for Senate.
At 25%, Schiff’s support is almost double that of his closest Democratic challenger, Representative Katie Porter (D-Orange County), who is polling at 13%. That’s a marked shift from November’s Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll, when Schiff was polling at 16% and Porter at 13%.
Porter has also dropped to third place behind Garvey. The former Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres slugger has been climbing in the polls of late.
Garvey’s support has jumped up eight points since November, when he was polling at just 10%. He’s surged past Porter, whose support has remained flat at 13% and left progressive Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) languishing in fourth.
Lee has seen her support drop a point since November’s poll, falling from 9% to 8%.
Further down, Eric Early, a Republican, was polling at 3%, James P Bradley, a Republican, was polling at 2%, Christina Pascucci, a Democrat, was polling at 2%. Jonathan Reiss and Sara Liew, both Republicans, were polling at 1%.
Of the voters surveyed, just under a quarter — 24% — said they remain undecided.
On the issues
When it comes to the candidates voters trusted to do the best on crime, 30% chose Schiff, 22% Garvey, 18% Porter and 13% Lee.
Schiff also came out on top for homelessness at 26%, with Garvey at 22%, Porter at 20% and Lee at 15%.
On the issue of abortion, 25% of those surveyed said they trust Porter the most, 23% Schiff, 21% Garvey, and 13% said Lee.
Regarding the war between Israel and Gaza, voters again trusted Schiff the most at 31%, Garvey at 23%, Porter at 14%, and Lee at 13%.
On immigration, voters again trusted Schiff more at 28%, followed Garvey at 23%, Porter at 18% and Lee at 12%.
In this portion of the survey, voters were asked which candidate they trusted to do the best job on the issues, regardless of who they said they planned to vote for.
In California’s open primary system, candidates from the two parties compete in the same primary on March 5. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will go on to the general election.
The latest poll was conducted from Jan. 11 to Jan. 14 with a sample consisting of 1,087 registered voters and a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error, of +/- 2.9 percentage points.
