Xavier Becerras lead over Steve Hilton shrinks in new California governor poll

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra’s lead over Republican rival Steve Hilton has shrunk dramatically in a new statewide poll, with the two candidates now separated by just eight points.Becerra leads Hilton 49.2% to 41% among likely November voters, while 9.8% remain undecided, according to a new poll shared exclusively with the California Post.The result is far tighter than a Berkeley poll released days earlier that showed Becerra with a commanding 18-point advantage.Crucially, Becerra falls below the 50% mark for the first time in the general-election polling – leaving the Democratic frontrunner short of majority support with just over two months until Election Day.“Xavier Becerra’s support is collapsing as more and more Californians learn about his horrific record as HHS Secretary, sending thousands of Latino kids into the clutches of child sex and labor traffickers,” Hilton told the Post.

“He thinks he’s going to coast to victory as part of the corrupt Sacramento machine, but this poll shows that Californians have had enough and are now rising up to throw out the insiders and vote for the change we so desperately need.”“Becerra is running away from the press, running away from debates, but he can’t run from who he is: an arrogant 36-year career politician pushing more of the same cost and corruption we’ve had to put up with in California over 16 years of one party rule,” Hilton said.The Becerra campaign did not return the Post’s request for comment on the poll.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story The poll of 912 California registered voters was conducted by David Wolfson, a pollster and faculty member in Columbia University’s Political Analytics graduate program, between August 14 and 16.The Wolfson poll...