Overview
- The Public Policy Institute of California poll, released Wednesday, found Xavier Becerra ahead of Steve Hilton among likely voters by 61% to 36% in the contest to replace Gavin Newsom.
- At the NALEO conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Becerra sought to link Hilton to President Trump while Hilton highlighted his immigrant story and a pro‑small‑business, anti‑regulation message.
- Nearly three‑quarters of likely voters said they would back Proposition 45, a measure to shorten review and legal windows under the California Environmental Quality Act to speed housing and infrastructure projects.
- The poll found broad opposition to building new AI data centers in local communities, with 44% saying they strongly oppose such projects and 29% somewhat opposing them, a view reflected in recent local halts like the Inland Empire proposal.
- The survey polled 1,578 adults, including 1,003 likely voters, from June 29 to July 6 with a ±3.8 percentage‑point margin of error, and it also showed strong support for climate goals paired with reluctance to pay higher energy costs.