Election 2014: Kashkari uses final minutes to campaign for governor

TUSTIN, Calif. (KABC) -- In the final hours before Tuesday's midterm elections, last-minute campaigning was in full swing Monday.

Gov. Jerry Brown is favored to win a fourth term in office, but Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari is not going down without a fight. He spent the day campaigning in Orange County.

He made a stop at Orange County Republican Party Headquarters in Tustin. Kashkari is optimistic despite lagging behind Brown by more than 20 points in a recent field poll.

"If you look at the absentee ballots already submitted, about 2.5 million ballots have already been submitted. We're 28 percent registered Republicans; 38 percent of those ballots are from Republicans," Kashkari said. "So those polls need to be adjusted for the fact that if Republicans turn out as it looks like much higher percentages than Democrats, I think this is going to be a competitive race."

It's a challenging race. The 41-year-old Orange County resident's campaign chest is about $6 million, half coming from his own pocket, compared with $24 million for Brown's re-election campaign. But Kashkari doesn't seem worried.

"Gov. Brown is basically non-existent," he said. "Nobody sees him, nobody's seen him in four years."

In a statement, Brown's campaign said:

"Over the past half-century, Gov. Brown has participated in more rallies, events, press conferences and interviews than any other elected official in California."

The governor has spent most of his time pushing Prop 1 and 2 than campaigning.

"The people of California know more about my candidacy than any other candidacy in the history of California," Brown said. "This is pretty clear: Save water, save money, vote one and two."

Kashkari used the final hours to let people know what he stands for, which includes rebuilding the middle class and improving education in the state.

"Our schools are ranked 46th out of 50 states," he said. "We're competing with Mississippi and Alabama for the worst schools in America."

Kashkari says it all comes down to voter turnout.

"I'm focused on tomorrow and going to fight hard until the clock stops tomorrow," he said.

Brown attended a funeral for a fallen sheriff's deputy in Northern California on Monday.

Kashkari spent last four days in Northern California and will spend rest in Southern California. Brown will attend another funeral for a Placer County sheriff's detective Tuesday, followed by dinner. Otherwise, he has no campaigning planned.