Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has emerged as the front-runner in the race to claim the Democratic nomination in California’s gubernatorial race, dethroning former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), according to a poll released Thursday.
Swalwell joined a crowded field of Democratic candidates vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) in late November, months after Porter declared her candidacy in March.
The survey from Emerson College Polling and Inside California Politics found Swalwell holds support from 12% of voters, while 11% back Porter.
Two Republican candidates, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, are either outperforming or tied with Democrats, at 13% and 12%, respectively.
In the poll, 31% of voters said they are still undecided.
The development comes after Porter led former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, her closest Democratic rival at the time, by 11% in August. The same polling from the Politico-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab showed Porter held a 6% lead over Bianco.
The dynamic of the race began to shift against Porter’s favor most noticeably over the fall, when she encountered significant struggles with likeability factors.
Viral footage of Porter becoming visibly irritated at follow-up questions, unflattering reports of her management style behind the scenes, and a widely publicized video of her berating a staffer undermined her campaign’s footing, leading the gubernatorial contender to issue an apology.
“I want people to know that I understand that what I did was not good,” Porter said during remarks in October at the UC Student and Policy Center.
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“I’m not going to mince words about it, but I also want people to understand that I am in this fight because I am not going to back down and give one inch when people are hurting Californians,” she added. “And both of those things can be true at the same time.”
The Emerson College poll was conducted Dec. 1-2 with a sample size of 1,000 active registered voters in California. Its margin of error is 3%.