Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's recent ads attacking Jerry Brown appear to have resonated with likely California voters, as the Democratic nominee's popularity is sliding, according to a new Field Poll.
The poll shows Brown leading Whitman 44 percent to 43 percent, a statistically insignificant difference.
Whitman trailed Brown by 21 percentage points in an October Field Poll, before closing on him in January and overtaking him in March. But Whitman's three-point advantage that month was erased in the final stages of a bruising GOP primary.
But 40 percent of voters now rate Brown negatively, nearly equal to the 42 percent with positive views. Brown's favorability rating plummeted from last year, when twice as many voters viewed him positively as did negatively.
"For Whitman, the success here is that the campaign seems to be working, in the sense that now as many voters view Brown negatively as do positively," poll director Mark DiCamillo said.
Read the full story on SacBee.com