Whitman Versus Brown in California Now a ‘Toss-Up,’ Poll Shows

The race for governor of California between Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman is now rated a “toss-up” instead of “leans Democrat,” according to Rasmussen Reports.

The polling company made the shift on its national Gubernatorial Scorecard after a survey of likely voters released today showed Brown drawing 49 percent support and Whitman getting 45 percent. Last week, a poll found that Brown had a 48- to-42 percent lead over Whitman.

Brown, 72, the state’s attorney general and a former governor, and Whitman, 54, a former EBay Inc. chief executive officer, are vying to lead the most populous U.S. state. The winner will confront a resurgent deficit that may equal this year’s $19 billion gap and an unemployment rate at 12.4 percent in September, the third-highest behind Nevada and Michigan.

Brown led Whitman 49-to-39 percent among likely voters in a Field Poll released Oct. 28. A month earlier they were tied at 41 percent each.

The Rasmussen survey of 750 likely voters was conducted on Oct. 27 and has a margin for error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alison Vekshin in San Francisco at avekshin@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net.

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