Overview
- The Public Policy Institute of California poll, released in mid-July, finds Xavier Becerra leading Steve Hilton 61% to 36% among likely voters with a ±3.8 percentage-point margin of error.
- About 85% of likely voters say a candidate’s environmental positions matter to their vote, making climate and land-use policy a top deciding issue for the November contest.
- The survey shows broad statewide opposition to new AI data centers, with 44% of adults saying they strongly oppose such projects and the Inland Empire reporting especially high resistance after a proposed 950,000-square-foot facility stalled.
- Nearly three-quarters of likely voters express early support for Proposition 45, a measure to shorten environmental review windows under the California Environmental Quality Act to speed housing and infrastructure projects.
- Republicans’ long-term underrepresentation among California registered voters and consolidated Democratic backing give Hilton structural hurdles in a general election that will be shaped by questions of affordability, energy costs, and environmental trade-offs.