This cycle, California will have a huge role in determining who becomes president. It will also determine which candidates keep competing for the nomination after the March 3rd primary-- Super-Tuesday. It would be hard to imagine, for example, that Kamala Harris will keep going if she does badly in California. And what about Beto and Castro? Texas votes the same day. So do Massachusetts and Minnesota, which are must-win states for Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, of course. ChangeResearch, one of my favorite polling outfits, just released the results of their April 6-9 poll of over 3,000 Californians. Some highlights:When asked which is the most important issue, these were the top dozen mentioned:
• Illegal immigration- 17%• Healthcare- 15%• Ending corruption- 9%• Environmental issues- 8%• Voting rights and protecting democratic institutions- 7%• Jobs and the economy- 6%• Gun rights- 6%• Education- 5%• Taxes- 5%• Crime and public safety- 5%• Gun control- 3%• Fiscal responsibility/balancing the budget- 3%
Likely Democratic primary voters were then asked how favorable their feeling are about each candidate:
Bernie• Very favorable- 41%• Somewhat favorable- 23%• Neutral- 14%• Somewhat unfavorable- 10%• Very unfavorable- 10%• Never heard of them- 1%Beto
• Very favorable- 26%• Somewhat favorable- 30%• Neutral- 22%• Somewhat unfavorable- 10%• Very unfavorable- 5%• Never heard of them- 7%Biden
• Very favorable- 39%• Somewhat favorable- 26%• Neutral- 15%• Somewhat unfavorable- 11%• Very unfavorable- 8%• Never heard of them- 1%Kamala Harris
• Very favorable- 39%• Somewhat favorable- 33%• Neutral- 13%• Somewhat unfavorable- 8%• Very unfavorable- 5%• Never heard of them- 3%Elizabeth Warren
• Very favorable- 34%• Somewhat favorable- 29%• Neutral- 20%• Somewhat unfavorable- 9%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 5%Cory Booker
• Very favorable- 17%• Somewhat favorable- 30%• Neutral- 26%• Somewhat unfavorable- 8%• Very unfavorable- 5%• Never heard of them- 14%Amy Klobuchar
• Very favorable- 6%• Somewhat favorable- 19%• Neutral- 30%• Somewhat unfavorable- 9%• Very unfavorable- 6%• Never heard of them- 30%Julian Castro
• Very favorable- 9%• Somewhat favorable- 21%• Neutral- 34%• Somewhat unfavorable- 6%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 28%John Delaney
• Very favorable- 0%• Somewhat favorable- 3%• Neutral- 33%• Somewhat unfavorable- 4%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 57%Tulsi Gabbard
• Very favorable- 5%• Somewhat favorable- 10%• Neutral- 29%• Somewhat unfavorable- 7%• Very unfavorable- 8%• Never heard of them- 41%Kirsten Gillibrand
• Very favorable- 7%• Somewhat favorable- 16%• Neutral- 39%• Somewhat unfavorable- 10%• Very unfavorable- 7%• Never heard of them- 21%John Hickenlooper
• Very favorable- 1%• Somewhat favorable- 7%• Neutral- 36%• Somewhat unfavorable- 5%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 48%Jay Inslee
• Very favorable- 3%• Somewhat favorable- 9%• Neutral- 31%• Somewhat unfavorable- 2%• Very unfavorable- 1%• Never heard of them- 54%Terry McAuliffe
• Very favorable- 2%• Somewhat favorable- 6%• Neutral- 36%• Somewhat unfavorable- 4%• Very unfavorable- 2%• Never heard of them- 51%Eric Swalwell
• Very favorable- 9%• Somewhat favorable- 12%• Neutral- 26%• Somewhat unfavorable- 3%• Very unfavorable- 2%• Never heard of them- 48%Andrew Yang
• Very favorable- 4%• Somewhat favorable- 11%• Neutral- 33%• Somewhat unfavorable- 4%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 36%Marianne Williamson
• Very favorable- 1%• Somewhat favorable- 3%• Neutral- 26%• Somewhat unfavorable- 3%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 64%Michael Bennett
• Very favorable- 1%• Somewhat favorable- 2%• Neutral- 33%• Somewhat unfavorable- 2%• Very unfavorable- 3%• Never heard of them- 59%Mayor Pete
• Very favorable- 24%• Somewhat favorable- 23%• Neutral- 21%• Somewhat unfavorable- 4%• Very unfavorable- 2%• Never heard of them- 27%Stacey Abrams
• Very favorable- 23%• Somewhat favorable- 20%• Neutral- 31%• Somewhat unfavorable- 2%• Very unfavorable- 2%• Never heard of them- 22%Wayne Messam
• Very favorable- 0%• Somewhat favorable- 1%• Neutral- 23%• Somewhat unfavorable- 2%• Very unfavorable- 2%• Never heard of them- 73%Tim Ryan
• Very favorable- 2%• Somewhat favorable- 4%• Neutral- 38%• Somewhat unfavorable- 5%• Very unfavorable- 4%• Never heard of them- 38%Howard Schultz
• Very favorable- 1%• Somewhat favorable- 3%• Neutral- 28%• Somewhat unfavorable- 9%• Very unfavorable- 20%• Never heard of them- 40%
OK, so who do these people who responded to all these questions, plan to vote for in the primary? I guess this is the big question,
• Bernie- 22%• Biden- 21%• Kamala- 19%• Beto- 10%• Mayor Pete- 9%• Elizabeth Warren- 8%• Cory Booker- 3%• Julian Castro- 2%• Stacey Abrams- 1%• Andrew Yang- 1%• Amy Klobuchar- 1%• Eric Swalwell- 1%• Tulsi Gabbard- 1%• Jay Inslee- 1%• Tim Ryan- 0%• John Delaney- 0%• John Hickenlooper- 0%• Marianne Williamson- 0%• Michael Bennet- 0%• Wayne Messam- 0%• Kirsten Gillibrand- 0%
They looked for the favorability and unfavorability of 3 polarizing national figures who I suspect you'll be interested in seeing results for. Remember, this is for all voters, not just Democrats:
