Poll shows Newsom with a commanding lead over Cox

Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom enters the final weeks of California’s 2018 governor’s race with a solid lead over Republican businessman John Cox, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

According to the survey, 54% of likely voters in the state favored Newsom for governor compared to 31% who support Cox. The remainder were undecided.

One of the most telling indicators of which candidate California voters favor is seen in their starkly divergent opinions about President Trump. His performance as president got a thumbs down from more than two-thirds of the likely voters in the state, the survey found.

Shrum said the animosity towards Trump is expected to increase voter turnout in California to a level higher than usual in a midterm, election. That would only add to Newsom’s advantage in November; the Democrats have close to a 20-percentage-point edge over the GOP in voter registration in California.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-usc-latimes-poll-governor-20181017-story.html