Press Democrat Poll shows Gavin Newsom favored in Sonoma County among candidates for governor

Among the wide field of candidates running to be California’s next governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is the clear favorite of Sonoma County voters, garnering more support than all other contenders combined, according to The Press Democrat Poll.

Newsom, the former San Francisco mayor who lives in Marin County, amassed support from 41 percent of respondents in the telephone poll, which surveyed 500 registered Sonoma County voters in the first week of May.

Republican businessman John Cox was a distant second with support from 10 percent of respondents, while Antonio Villaraigosa, the former ?Los Angeles mayor, and Newsom’s leading Democratic rival, had 8 percent.

Former state schools chief Delaine Eastin and state Treasurer John Chiang, both Democrats, had 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen and Democrat Amanda Renteria each had 3 percent, and 25 percent of respondents were undecided.

The top two vote-getters in the June 5 primary, regardless of party affiliation, will compete in the November runoff election.

Given the county’s proximity to San Francisco and Newsom’s liberal politics, it’s no surprise he resonated with voters, said David Binder, whose San Francisco-based firm conducted the survey for the newspaper.

Binder’s firm is separately contracted to handle polling for Newsom’s campaign.

Democrats outnumber Republicans about 3-to-1 in county voter registration and voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016 by the same margin.

Newsom was the overwhelming favorite among Democratic voters with ?56 percent support, far ahead of the almost 10 percent support for Villaraigosa, while Eastin had almost 6 percent and no other candidate had more than ?4 percent. Newsom got 25 percent support from independents and 13 percent among Republican voters.

About half of voters age 55 and up favored Newsom; ages 35 to 54 supported him in the mid-30 percent range and those under 35 gave him 27 percent support. Newsom, 50, began his political career with an appointment to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at age 29.

Newsom’s best-known act as mayor was allowing same-sex couples to marry in San Francisco in 2004, gaining national attention but also triggering some resentment that he may have rallied conservative support for George W. Bush, who won his second term in the White House that year.

Cox owed his backing in Sonoma County largely to local Republicans, who gave him nearly 32 percent support in the poll along with 13 percent for Newsom and 10 percent for Allen. No other candidate had more than 4 percent of GOP support.

Villaraigosa’s standing among local poll respondents likely stems from his base in Southern California and lower name recognition in Sonoma County, Binder said.

The grandson of a Mexican immigrant, who was L.A.’s first Latino mayor in 133 years, got nearly ?21 percent support from Latino voters surveyed, while Newsom had 32 percent. Renteria, the daughter of former farmworkers, had nearly 8 percent.

The Press Democrat Poll surveyed voters on a series of issues crucial to Sonoma County, including the races for senator and Sonoma County sheriff. It is the newspaper’s first poll since 2003.

The new poll, conducted May 2 to May 7, connected with 500 Sonoma County voters by landline and cellphone. It targeted voters who had cast ballots in the November 2016 election and at least one other election since November 2012.

It had a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

Amy Henry, a 49-year-old nurse from Santa Rosa who identifies herself as “a proud progressive Democrat,” said Newsom’s policy proposals and ideology were mostly in line with her personal views. She credited him for his 2004 stand in support of gay marriage and said she wasn’t troubled by the prospect - despite Newsom’s disavowals - that he will use the governorship as a springboard to running for higher office.

“I hope so,” Henry said, envisioning a ticket of Sen. Kamala Harris for president with Newsom as her running mate.

“It’s the progressives’ turn to have a louder voice,” she said. “Vive la résistance.”

Jerry St. George of Sebastopol, a registered Republican and a self-declared conservative, said he hopes Cox, his choice for governor, is true to his affiliation with the GOP.

“I’m not sure,” said St. George, 72, a retired Sonoma County road department employee. “He’s trying to come across as one.”

He believes Cox would repeal the gasoline tax increase and sanctuary law governing detention of some undocumented immigrants, both of which he attributes to Gov. Jerry Brown and does not like.

St. George wants to see a crackdown on illegal immigration, saying the border wall proposed by President Donald Trump would be expensive but may be the best solution.

“I don’t like it when they’re just coming across the border,” he said. “They’re taking our jobs. The priority needs to be on our own people.”

California should quit waging war with the Trump administration, St. George said. “We should be going along with the rest of the country.”

Joseph Voss of Cloverdale, a registered Democrat who wants to keep a Democrat in the governor’s office, said his preference is Villaraigosa.

“I think he’s done a good job in LA,” Voss said, crediting Villaraigosa with reforms that made the Los Angeles Police Department more accountable and “more sensitive to the community.”

Voss, a 57-year-old software company executive, said he considers both Villaraigosa and Newsom as “orthodox California progressive Democrats.”

He said he can’t overlook Newsom’s affair in ?2005 with his campaign manager’s wife because it was also a “betrayal” of her husband, a close friend of Newsom, Voss said.

“The deciding factor is character and integrity,” he said.

Amber Cushing of Santa Rosa intends to vote for Eastin, the only woman ever elected as state schools superintendent, largely because of Eastin’s performance in a televised debate.

“I really like that she gives it to you straight,” said Cushing, 20, a Santa Rosa Junior College student majoring in business administration. “She doesn’t dodge around the questions.”

Cushing, a registered Democrat, credits Eastin with a determination to “protect our coastline and natural resources” and address homelessness by not only building homes but also providing treatment for drug addiction and mental illness.

“She makes it clear what she’s fighting for,” Cushing said.

Elaine Larson of Petaluma said she favors Chiang, the state treasurer, as the candidate most likely to address wage inequity.

“My sense is that he’s more for representing the average middle-class person as opposed to giving corporations more privileges,” said Larson, 73, a registered Democrat who labels herself “very progressive.”

A retired information technology architect, Larson said she’s dismayed by the growing wealth disparity between top earners and the rest of the American workforce.

“It’s astonishing,” she said.

Poll respondent Hunter Sauls, 47, described himself as “an anybody but Gavin Newsom guy.” The Sonoma resident who has “no clear party affiliation,” favors Allen, a Republican assemblyman from Huntington Beach, mainly for his support of the 2nd Amendment and rights for gun owners.

“The rest of the candidates act like it just doesn’t exist,” he said.

Allen’s campaign website says “Every Californian has the right to protect themselves” and at a debate in March he said allowing more people to have weapons at schools will deter attackers.

Sauls said he also considers Allen, a self-employed financial advisor, an advocate for “fiscal responsibility” and for recognizing the interests of Northern California.

“I feel the northern part of the state is neglected and I feel all the resources and attention go to the southern part of the state and San Francisco,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457.