Fighting President Trump outranks tackling California’s affordability crisis by nearly 2-to-1 among Xavier Becerra’s supporters, according to a new poll that shows the Democrat cruising toward the governor’s office.
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Democrat → fight → office
The Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies released a survey Friday that found 62% of Becerra voters said fighting Trump administration policies was among their top election concerns, compared with 33% who selected reducing the cost of living.
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who → release → living
The findings suggest resistance to the current occupant of the White House remains a more powerful rallying point among Becerra backers than the financial squeeze facing Californians — as Republican rival Steve Hilton struggles to gain ground four days before the election.
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Hilton → suggest → election
Becerra led Hilton 61% to 34% among likely voters, with 5% undecided.
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% → lead → voters
His 27-percentage-point advantage grew from a 25-point lead in September.
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advantage → grow → September
Respondents could select up to two top election issues, meaning fighting Trump and addressing affordability were not mutually exclusive choices.
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fighting → select → affordability
Among Becerra supporters in the Berkeley survey, ensuring their party maintains or wins control of Congress ranked third at 29%.
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party → ensure → %
Protecting immigrant communities followed at 14%, while improving health care coverage for those in need drew 13%.
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improving → protect → %
Just 3% selected reducing taxes, and 4% chose fighting crime and ensuring public safety.
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% → select → safety
Hilton’s supporters offered a sharply different set of priorities.
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supporters → offer → priorities
Reducing taxes topped their list at 49%, followed by immigration enforcement at 41% and fighting crime and ensuring public safety at 36%.
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Reducing → reduce → %
Lowering the cost of living drew 34%, almost identical to the share among Becerra voters.
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Lowering → lower → voters
Only 2% of Hilton supporters selected fighting Trump administration policies.
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% → select → policies
Across the likely electorate, opposition to Trump’s policies ranked first at 40%, followed by affordability at 34%.
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opposition → rank → %
The survey also illustrated the formidable partisan math confronting Hilton in a state where Democratic registrants outnumber Republicans nearly 2-to-1.
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registrants → illustrate → Republicans
Each candidate won support from 94% of voters registered with his respective party.
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candidate → win → party
But Becerra also led 59% to 31% among voters registered without a party preference or with other parties.
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Becerra → lead → parties
Becerra received at least 50% support in every major region and demographic group reported by pollsters.
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Becerra → receive → pollsters
His strongest regional showing came in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he led 72% to 23%.
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he → come → %
Hilton came closest in Orange County, trailing 50% to 49%.
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Hilton → come → %
Even some of the Republican’s own voters appeared unconvinced he could pull off an upset.
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he → appear → upset
Nearly a third of Hilton supporters predicted Becerra would win.
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Becerra → predict → supporters
Among all likely voters, 71% expected a Becerra victory, compared with 16% who anticipated Hilton becoming governor.
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Hilton → expect → %
Becerra’s favorable rating climbed to 53%, up from 48% in September.
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rating → climb → September
Hilton’s stood at 34%, while 56% viewed him unfavorably.
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% → stand → him
The poll was conducted online in English and Spanish Oct. 19-25 among 2,787 registered voters.
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poll → conduct → voters
Pollsters estimated a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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Pollsters → estimate → points
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