The latest UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/LA Times poll shows Robert Luna continuing to pull ahead of Villanueva. The poll taken Oct. 25-31 finds Luna supported by 40% of likely voters to Villanueva's 32%. More than a quarter of those polled are still undecided.
Luna is the former Long Beach police chief and has led Villanueva in the polls over the past several months.
"Seventy percent of the voters in LA County voted in the primary to replace the sheriff and if elected, I will bring you leadership and accountability to the sheriff's department," Luna said at a news conference Thursday.
MORE | Robert Luna makes his pitch to be next LA County sheriff
Robert Luna makes his pitch to be next LA County sheriff
Also on Thursday Villanueva held a news conference where he accused LA County District Attorney George Gascón of delaying the release of high-profile investigations, specifically to make the sheriff look bad.
"We are calling on the office of the (California) attorney general to actually start an investigation examining if or not the district attorney's been engaging in electioneering and using his office to influence the outcome of the election," Villanueva said at the event.
Eyewitness News reached out to the District Attorney's office about the sheriff's electioneering accusation. The DA's communications director called the charges lies and a media stunt.
"The families of those who have been killed or injured by law enforcement deserve better than to have their loved ones' cases be made into a media stunt on the eve of an election," wrote Tiffiny Blacknell, the communications director for Gascón.
During his four years in office, Villanueva has been a magnet for criticism from the LA County Board of Supervisors and has openly battled an oversight commission assigned to monitor his department. He's also been entwined in department scandals involving deputy gangs and accusations of covering up an excessive use-of-force case.
MORE | LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva explains why he deserves to keep his position
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva sits down with Marc Brown ahead of Election Day
During his campaign, Villanueva has painted himself as the unfair target of liberal politicians and activists. Thursday, he dusted off the recent election poll results as unreliable.
"You've got to realize the Times is going to spin it to their favor," he said.
Luna, for his part, is considerably less polarizing and has mostly struggled with low name recognition. He says he has a good working relationship with all of the county supervisors and will fix the current discord he says is rampant in the sheriff's department.
"It's completely dysfunctional and chaotic and it's negatively impacting the public safety of every resident of LA County," Luna told Eyewitness News.