A new poll in the race for California Governor shows Democrat Xavier Becerra is leading Republican Steve Hilton by a wide margin
Thursday, July 16, 2026 6:16AM A new poll in the race for California Governor shows Democrat Xavier Becerra is leading Republican Steve Hilton by a wide margin -- 61% to 36%.
Becerra leads Hilton across several demographics: age, gender, homeownership, income, racial/ethnic groups and across the state's major regions. The poll also found 85% of likely voters say that the gubernatorial candidates' positions on the environment are important -- 60% of Democrats call it "very important," compared to 29% of Republicans.conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll was conducted in English and Spanish, and 1,003 of those who were polled were likely voters.
The same poll found that a large majority of Californians do not want new data centers built in their area. Only about a quarter of those surveyed are in favor of the construction of data centers. Another key finding was that Californians are most likely to name wildfires as the top environmental issue facing the state today, followed by climate change, government overregulation and water supply.
Of those polled, about six in 10 think that the state and local governments are not doing enough to address wildfires. Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
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