Field Poll released its polling data on the governor’s race (PDF), and it is about what you would expect. 
Whitman leading Poizner, Brown leading both. But the numbers themselves are worthy of note. First, with Campbell out of the race, Poizner’s made it out of the single digits!
Of course, he’s only made it out of single digits with the help of Tom Campbell’s exit. And Campbell’s support seems to have pretty evenly split between Whitman and Poizner. With or without Campbell in the race, Poizner has a long way to go to catch Whitman.
And that’s made tougher by the fact that Whitman just dropped another $20 million in the race, likely breaking the all-time record for self-funding. This brings her total to $39 million, but is only the beginning. She has said in the past that she could imagine spending $150 million in the race, much of that coming from her own bank account.
And while it has pretty much buried Poizner’s petty self-spending, there’s a long way to go to run Jerry Brown under. Brown holds sizable leads over both Whitman (10%) and Poizner (17%).
However, both these figures are down markedly from the last poll in October, when Brown held a 21% lead over Whitman. Of course, this should be expected as Whitman is running media up and down the state, and you know, campaigning.
If you want to see something that should send a shiver up and down any progressive’s spine, watch this Whitman campaign video. It’s not remarkable so much for the content, I mean, campaigns frequently try to appeal to women. Rather, it is the overwhelming campaign organization that they tangentially discuss. They have paid field staff up and down the state. They have several communications staff. In short, they have an enviable campaign operation that is prepared to wage a campaign for the the 21st century.
This is what you can do when you know you have pretty much unlimited resources. Jerry Brown is doing fine on the fundraising front. He’s raised a lot of cash, and his burn rate is stunningly low. Yet, when you are going against a candidate with no real spending restraints, how much money is enough? And when does the campaign begin?
While Robert’s recent post dealt with all the reasons why Barbara Boxer is not the next Martha Coakley… and probably got it right… the real question is whether or not Jerry Brown is going to be a Coakley.
The CA Democratic Party has reached the point where there is no alternative to Brown. All the eggs are in that one basket.
I listen to classical music most of the time and get at least 2 or 3 Whitman commercials, every day. The focus is entirely on standard themes. I can reign in spending. I can create jobs. Experience in business translates to experience in Gov’t., etc.
It is not only about money. It is going to be about the personal economics of millions of households. Jerry does not need the Democratic base to win the nomination, but he needs independent voters to win in November.
I’d say he is going to do a Kathleen not a Coakley. He is going to play coy long enough to let Whitman define the race, then complain about how progressives did not come out and support him when he loses. God- Isn’t there Somebody or Anybody else?
Brown needs to cut this “oh Im’ not running but I am” shit, and start running a real campaign. He will not beat the mega millions being spent by the GOP for their top ticket with a mom and pop campaign that continues to deny he’s even running.
It is really sickening to see the Democrats win the presidency and both houses of Congress and yet invent a new way to fuck things up. What is the point of voting for these people anymore? Either they lose, or they win and yet seem unable to put forth a plan or get anything done.
So why do we vote for them again?
My ,02’s worth is that JB can continue to sit on the side lines and watch Poizner and E-Meg spend their funds – with the caveat that he has no excuse not to start defining and publicizing his policy or platform. There is all kinds of action he can take with jumping in, including meeting with citizens and getting a read on our priorities.
On the other hand, we’d ALL (including Jerry) benefit from a primary within the party.
Otherwise, the most viable candidate may end up being the third party – Ms. Wells. I’m sure we’d all benefit from hearing more about her.