New Poll Finds Race for California Governor Remains Deadlocked

Other Democrats in the poll included San José Mayor Matt Mahan, who received support from 3% of likely voters, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond at 2% and former state Assemblymember Ian Calderon at 1%.

The crowded Democratic field prevented any candidate from reaching the 60% delegate support required to secure the state party’s endorsement at its convention last weekend in San Francisco.

“The Republican vote is going to be split two ways versus a Democratic vote that could be split — I mean, we have nine major candidates, it could be split into pieces,” said Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. “It’s not a negligible concern; it’s definitely something I think about.”

Baldassare said a Hilton-Bianco general election is possible, “but I wouldn’t say it’s probable.”

The PPIC poll found a smaller share of Republicans (5%) than Democrats (9%) were undecided.

Rusty Hicks, the chair of the California Democratic Party, said the field would shrink before voting begins in early May.

“I think in many ways the primary process itself is going to do some of the winnowing — whether it is traction that candidates get with voters across the state, those who are able to raise the resources to communicate a message, those who land significant endorsements and supporters.”

But even the landscape of key Democratic endorsements remains splintered. On Tuesday, the powerful union SEIU California stopped short of endorsing anyone in the race, instead issuing an anti-endorsement of Hilton, Bianco and Mahan — a business-friendly Democrat who has sparred with labor in the past.

In a statement, SEIU California President David Huerta added a gentle nudge for some low-polling candidates to begin heading toward the exits.

“SEIU members urge candidates who have not built the coalition, campaign, and resources to compete in a statewide race of this magnitude to seriously reconsider their candidacy and re-focus their leadership on advancing a more just and equitable future for California’s working families,” Huerta said.

KQED’s Scott Shafer contributed to this story.