With state-wide elections less than two weeks away, recent polls
show that while Gray Davis has a ten-point lead, a majority of
voters find both main party candidates unsatisfactory.
In an election that has drawn national attention, the winner, it
appears, will be the more popular of two unpopular candidates.
Davis, the incumbent, has been forced to deal with lingering
criticism over his handling of the state’s energy crisis and
fundraising strategies.
Meanwhile, Republican challenger Bill Simon’s
mistake-ridden campaign ““ which was forced to apologize for
false accusations made against Davis last week ““ has failed
to capitalize on his opponent’s weaknesses.
This has caused an unusual campaign, where voters are having
difficulty choosing who to vote for, said Mark DiCamillo, who has
done regular polls for the non-partisan Field Poll group throughout
the campaign.
“Voters are recoiling from both candidates,”
DiCamillo said. “They’re having a hard time making a judgment
even though they know (the candidates) better now.”
Last Thursday Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the National
Republican Campaign Committee chair, attacked the Simon campaign as
being the worst Republican campaign in the nation.
“I don’t think there’s a worse run race in the
country than the governor’s race in California for
Republicans,” Tom Davis told a National Press Club audience
last Thursday.
Tom Davis ““ who has no relation to the governor ““
added that Republicans had hoped to take advantage of the
governor’s weakness in order to help them win Congressional
seats in the state.
Simon responded by inviting Tom Davis to come to California and
meet his campaign staff.
“We’ve run a good strong campaign,” Simon told
the Associated Press.
DiCamillo said Rep. Davis’ comments were probably made out
of frustration, because Gov. Davis is leading in the polls ““
including DiCamillo’s ““ even though they indicate a
majority of voters have unfavorable feelings toward the governor.
His popularity has not recovered from last year’s energy
crisis, which Davis has been blamed for not preventing.
In DiCamillo’s poll, 52 percent of voters have unfavorable
ratings of the governor’s performance while only 41 percent
give him a favorable rating. Davis has also had to deal with
dissension among members of his own party.
Earlier this month the Latino Caucus ““ an all-Democrat
association of 22 Latino state legislators ““ refused to
support Davis’ re-election campaign.
The decision was made largely because Davis vetoed legislation
that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain California
driver’s licenses. The veto was was seen as an insult to the
state’s Latino population, which represents close to a third
of the electorate.
However, the Latino Caucus’ decision does not seem to
reflect the opinion of Latino voters, who in all polls
overwhelmingly prefer Davis to Simon. Many expected Simon to be
able to capitalize on his opponent’s missteps, but instead he
has made numerous mistakes himself.
The Simon campaign took another hit last week after releasing
photos of Gray Davis allegedly accepting a campaign donation in the
Capitol, a violation of state law.
Simon later had to apologize for the accusation when the photos
were found illegitimate.
This is not the first accusation of unethical fund-raising Davis
has faced in this campaign.
Simon has accused Davis of making policy decisions and political
appointments ““ such as appointing Regents for the University
of California ““ based on donations to his campaign.
“We operate fully within the law,” Davis said when
speaking at UCLA last week.
Despite these accusations, a poll by the non-partisan Public
Policy Institute of California released Tuesday indicates voters
think Davis is a better choice than Simon for maintaining high
ethical standards in government.
Earlier this year, Davis ran a series of television ads
highlighting Simon being found guilty for fraud against a corporate
partner.
This conviction was overturned in September, but is contributing
to the negative feelings towards Simon, along with federal
investigations of him using illegal tax shelters.
While both candidates have attacked each other’s ethics
throughout the campaign, the Public Policy Institute poll indicates
voters care most about education.
Davis, who has portrayed himself as the “education
governor,” is seen by a majority of voters to be a better
governor for promoting education.
Mark Baldassare, who conducted the poll, told the Associated
Press that this “goes a long way to explaining the overall
standings.”
His poll, along with DiCamillo’s, indicates that a majority of
voters are dissatisfied with their choices for governor and are
turning to other options.
“There is record high support for third party
candidates,” DiCamillo said.
His poll, conducted in September, has 9 percent of voters
supporting a candidate other than Davis or Simon. Third party
candidates only received 3.6 percent of the vote in 1998.
Davis press aide Gabriel Sanchez said these results reflect a
general feeling of dissatisfaction among voters and is not specific
to this election.
“It is a common lament in several elections throughout the
country,” Sanchez said. “I wouldn’t place more stock in
it this year than is any other year.”
With reports from the Associated Press.