Whitman, Brown make final push in SoCal

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES Republican candidate /*Meg Whitman*/ visited a GOP field office in Woodland Hills and then met with supporters in Temecular on Monday.

Democratic candidate /* Jerry Brown*/ attended the Get Out the Vote rally in downtown Los Angeles before returning to his hometown of Oakland.

New polls do not bode well for Whitman. The results from an exclusive Eyewitness News SurveyUSA poll showed Whitman with 37 percent of the vote, which is her lowest number in the past four months.

Brown has 48 percent of the respondents, which is his highest number in the last four months. Six percent expected to vote for other candidates, and 9 percent were undecided.

Brown campaigned in Riverside Sunday, where he said he has the experience needed to run the state. The current attorney general has served as governor, state controller and mayor of Oakland. Brown said he is the best candidate to get the economy going and generate jobs.

"We've got to get the money flowing. That's the way you get jobs. Whether it's bond money, local money or money out of Washington, I'll look wherever I can and invest," Brown said at the rally in Riverside.

Whitman attended a Take Back California rally in Burbank on Sunday. The former chief executive officer of Ebay has pumped $142 million of her own money into her campaign. She promised to reduce government spending, boost the economy and improve public schools. She also continued to call Brown a job killer who will raise taxes.

"There's only one poll that matters and that's tomorrow's," Whitman said. "I know, you know, our polls still look really good. Our polls look great, so you know what? We're going to battle it out till the end. I feel great about where we are."

Whitman says she has 40,000 volunteers in 58 counties. They're making phone calls to turn out her voters.

Whitman joined the volunteers making phone calls.

"I'm going to win, Carly is going to win, the entire ticket is going to win and the whole United States is going to say, 'Wow, what happened in California?'" Whitman said.

Brown, the former governor and now attorney general was in Los Angeles at the Central Library. Brown has surged in the polls since he started spending on television. He's also been a fixture in California politics for decades. Brown took a swipe at Whitman's total lack of experience in elected office.

"And if you have a candidate who has never voted, never got interested in the school board, or government, or politics, or anything, you might say, 'Hey, maybe there's another line of work you're more familiar with,'" said Brown at the rally.

Brown also says Whitman and her husband moved to California because it was a state of opportunity. He reminds voters he was governor then. And he suggests if he's elected there will be no long learning curve.

"When I start, and I'm going to start this job before I'm elected, I'm not going to wait for a couple months," Brown said. "I'm going to go to work in two weeks and I'm going to seek the help of you and other legislators. I'm going to go up and down the state and the budget is not going to be a secretive process."

Brown and Whitman have until 8 p.m. Tuesday when the polls close to finish convincing their voters.

Meanwhile, the latest results from the SurveyUSA poll showed that in the U.S. Senate race, Republican candidate Carly Fiorina's support is down to 38 percent from 48 percent two months ago. Democrat Barbara Boxer has 46 percent of the support.

In the race for lieutenant governor, the contest remains close among people who said they already voted. Democrat Gavin Newsom's support is stronger among those who have not returned a ballot. When looking at results from both groups, Newsom leads with 42 percent, and incumbent Republican Abel Maldonado has 35 percent of votes.

As for Proposition 19, the measure to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in California, voters remained divided with 46 percent saying they are against the proposition and 44 percent saying they support it.

Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.