California Governor
Open seat, currently Democratic.
The average over time
Each poll is first shifted by its sponsor's and its pollster's measured lean, then weighted by recency and track record. Sample size gets no weight: in 2,000-plus past races it predicted nothing about accuracy. Why.
What the fundamentals say
A regression on past governor's races, fit without looking at this year. The national environment term uses the generic ballot after its historical correction (D+5.3).
All 6 polls in the average
“Share” is how much of today’s average each poll supplies. It depends on recency, the pollster’s record, whether the poll screens for likely voters, and how many other polls the same firm has in the race. It does not depend on sample size.
| Dates | Pollster | Sample | Becerra | Hilton | As published | Adjusted | Share of average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4–10 | Public Policy Institute of California | 1,098 LV | 60 | 38 | D+22 | D+21.9 moved 0.1 toward R | 36% | source |
| Aug 3–9 | University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies for Los Angeles Times | 2,310 LV | 55 | 37 | D+18 | D+18.1 moved 0.1 toward D | 31% | source |
| Jun 29 – Jul 6 | Public Policy Institute of California | 1,003 LV | 61 | 36 | D+25 | D+24.9 moved 0.1 toward R | 8.1% | source |
| Jun 13–17 | Kreate Strategies | 900 RV | 58 | 33 | D+25 | D+24.9 moved 0.1 toward R | 9.0% | source |
| May 23–26 | USC Dornsife/CSU Long Beach/Cal Poly Pomona for CSU Long Beach-USC-Cal Poly Pomona California Elections and Policy | 735 LV | 58 | 35 | D+23 | D+23.0 | 12% | source |
| May 19–24 | University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies for Los Angeles Times | 8,578 RV | 52 | 31 | D+21 | D+21.1 moved 0.1 toward D | 3.7% | source |
LV: likely voters. RV: registered voters. A: all adults. “Adjusted” is the published margin after removing the sponsor shift and the pollster’s measured house effect; the small print says how far that moved the poll. Dem.-aligned and Rep.-aligned mark polls paid for by a party, a campaign, or an allied group, or taken by a firm whose published work is mostly for one side. They are shifted by the average lean of such polls, then counted at full weight.
Recent results for this office
| Year | Democrat | Republican | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Gavin Newsom | Brian Dahle | D+18.4 |
| 2021 (recall) | Gavin Newsom | — | Retained, 61.9% to 38.1% |
| 2018 | Gavin Newsom | John Cox | D+23.9 |
| 2014 | Jerry Brown | Neel Kashkari | D+19.9 |