SAN FRANCISCO — Vice President Al Gore has a opened up a whopping 33-point lead among Hispanics in California
according to a poll released Tuesday.The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll showed Gore leading Governor George W. Bush by 61-to-28 percent. The Democratic candidate also holds a nine-point
lead in the state with all voters, 48 to 39 percent.
Green Party candidate Ralph Nader has lost his 8 percent hold among California’s politically-aware Chicanos and liberal Democrats as party members
return back to the more conservative Gore. The poll places Nader at 4 percent.
According to the poll, Gore is also gaining among independents and women who backed him 54 percent to Bush’s 34 percent.
PPIC survey director Mark Baldassare said, “In California’s new political landscape, once-marginal voters such as Latinos and independents now hold the key to success at the polls.”
Gore led in with
double-digits on the top three election issues with California voters — education, health care, and Social Security. Bush held a favorable margin with taxes.
The poll was conducted of 2,014
Californians between Sept. 5 and 11.
While the Latino vote may have swung the most populous state toward Gore, the real battle ground for the swing vote appears to be shaping up in the Midwest where the
two candidates are attempting to woo white males.
Bush began this week abandoning his focus on Gore’s character. Instead, this week he began focusing on issues. He has launched a 16-page “Blueprint for the
Middle Class” which focuses on issues including taxes, education, pensions and healthcare.
