Kerry Leads Edwards Handily in California

[Freddie Stubbs]

By Michael Finnegan, Times Staff Writer


A week before California's Democratic presidential primary, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry leads North Carolina Sen. John Edwards by a lopsided 56% to 24% among the state's likely voters in the race, according to a new Los Angeles Times poll.

The survey also found that, while many Californians are still unaware of them, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's two budget measures on the March 2 ballot are winning a majority, thanks partly to his aggressive campaign for voter approval.

One of them, Proposition 57, which would authorize up to $15 billion in bonds to help balance the state budget, has the support of 51% of voters with 34% opposed — once the measure was explained to them. The other, Proposition 58, which would require the Legislature to pass a balanced budget, has a broader 58%-to-23% lead.

But two other ballot measures were in trouble, the poll found. Proposition 55, a $12-billion school bond, is ahead narrowly — 49% to 41%. Proposition 56 — a proposal to lower the Legislature's vote threshold for passing a budget, in effect abolishing the Republican minority's power to block tax hikes — is losing 39% to 46%. On all of the propositions, a substantial chunk of the electorate was still undecided even after being told about the measures.

more: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-me-poll24feb24,1,7730978.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[SerpentX]

1. We really need Props 55 & 56.