The race for state schools superintendent is in a dead heat, but more than four out of every 10 of voters remain undecided about who to support just days before Tuesday’s election, the latest Field Poll reported. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown leads Republican challenger Neel Kashkari by 21 points. Democrats lead in the other races for statewide offices.
Jerry Brown holds a 21 point lead over Neel Kashkari among likely voters in the governor’s race, and there is majority support both for a state water bond.Likely voters are more divided on two other statewide ballot initiatives, one that would establish a budget stabilization account—or rainy day fund—and another that would give the state insurance commissioner authority over changes in health insurance rates.
Gov. Jerry Brown makes a point during an hour-long debate with challenger Neel Kashkari. Reporters followed the confrontation on nearby video monitors. (Capitol Weekly/Tim Foster)A fast-paced, sometimes raucous confrontation between incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown and challenger Neel Kashkari shed some light and more heat on an array of issues facing Californians, but there were no knockout blows and it was uncertain whether the only debate of the campaign two months before Election Day would have an impact on voters.
World headquarters of Tesla Motors in Palo Alto. (Photo: Katherine Welles)Tesla’s decision to choose Nevada for its planned $5 billion battery factory is all but certain to play out Thursday evening in the one-and-only televised gubernatorial campaign debate between Jerry Brown and Neel Kashkari. California’s economic recovery has been a core issue in the gubernatorial campaign between Gov. Brown, a Democrat who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term and already is the state’s longest serving governor, and Kashkari, a Republican and former treasury official. Brown is heavily favored.