Becerra heads toward the November election with a major edge over Hilton in governor's race, poll shows

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SACRAMENTO — Democrat Xavier Becerra holds a major advantage over Republican Steve Hilton as the race for California governor heads toward the November election, a new poll shows.The two candidates topped a crowded field of gubernatorial hopefuls in the June 2 primary, earning them the opportunity to face-off in the general election.Among registered voters in the state, 52% supported Becerra in a head-to-head matchup against Hilton, who was backed by 31%, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll which was co-sponsored by The Los Angeles Times.

The remainder were undecided.“It looks very much like a traditional, partisan-based general election, with most of the Democrats, over 80%, behind Becerra as the campaign starts,” said IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo.“Even though Hilton has over 80% of the Republicans, the Democrats outnumber Republicans by 20 points in the state, and that gives the Democratic candidates a huge advantage, which Becerra is clearly taking advantage of in this election.”The survey of California voters was conducted before the primary, from May 19-24.The poll found that Democratic and Republican voters were extremely loyal to their party’s candidate.

Among Democrats, 82% said they would support Becerra in the general election, while 84% of Republicans said the same about Hilton.Becerra also had an edge among voters registered as no party preference or registered with other parties — who make up almost a third of the state electorate.Among those voters, 43% backed Becerra, 28% supported Hilton and 29% were undecided, the poll showed.Along age, gender, racial and geographic lines, voters preferred Becerra to Hilton nearly across the board.

The only geographic region where voters preferred Hilton to Becerra are those in the North Coast/Sierra region, which makes up about 2% of the electorate, DiCamillo said.Hilton, who ...