L.A. Times/Dornsife poll on Senate race released

A new poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times and the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences revealed that California Attorney General Kamala Harris has an early lead in the U.S. Senate contest, garnering the support of 28 percent of individuals surveyed.

The poll also shows Harris having strong support from certain groups, such as residents of the Bay Area. Many strategists have analyzed that Harris’ seat is by no means certain, however, as she is an unknown candidate to more than 50 percent of voters and is mostly viewed unfavorably by Republican voters — 15 percent are in favor compared to 21 percent not in favor.

Other results show that 19 percent of voters chose Antonio Villaraigosa, 9 percent chose Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, 6 percent chose Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside), 6 percent chose former California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro and 5 percent chose U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Tuesday he would not run for Sen. Boxer’s vacated Senate seat.

A majority of Californians is also optimistic about the future of state politics, with 45 percent expressing that the state is “on the right track,” as opposed to 39 percent who disagree. Gov. Jerry Brown also received his highest approval rating in the history of the Dornsife/L.A. Times poll, scoring the support of 64 percent of voters.

“In addition to asking about more specific policy issues, I get a broader sense of what Californians think about California and what they like about living here and what they don’t,” said Dan Schnur, executive director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics in an interview with the L.A. Times and Dornsife.

These results come amid a climate of pessimism for California residents. The polls show that 42 percent of Californians thought “the next generation of Californians would it have worse off than they did,” compared to 28 percent who thought California “would be a better place to live in the future” and 24 percent who thought California “will be the same for the next generation.”

“The most appealing aspects of California for most people who live here [are] not surprising,” Schnur said. “It’s the lifestyle, people talked about the weather, they talked about access to the coast and the beach, they talk about family and friends, they talked about cultural and demographic diversity. So what they liked most about California is what California represents to them on a personal basis.”

Only one in four people expressed desire to move, 69 percent of Californians now cite the climate as their favorite aspect of the state instead of employment and earnings potential (12 percent). Californians also cited as “poor” several key measures of quality of life, such as traffic (82 percent), affordable housing (78 percent), affordable college (66 percent), taxes (66 percent), government spending (65 percent) and income inequality (59 percent).

Cathleen Decker, politics editor for the L.A. Times, commented that the poll results revealed that Californians did not support regulations, but were optimistic for the positive opportunity the state brought.

“People were not really all that keen on regulations,” Decker said. “They saw regulations as getting in the way of a full economic recovery, but they remained optimistic when asked about whether the opportunities and the offerings … By almost 20 points, they felt that opportunities outweighed the downside.”

Moreover, when asked why they might relocate from the state, 31 percent articulated it to the cost of living, 20 percent said employment, 20 percent said government and politicians and 11 percent said the cost of owning a home.

However, the poll also highlighted some positive sentiments about lifestyle in the state, as 85 percent of Californians consider the culture and the arts to be “excellent or good,” 74 percent rated innovation as “excellent” or “good” and 77 percent appreciated the preservation of natural resources.

Schnur explained that individuals polled are concerned that the standard quality of living in California will decrease for their children.

“On the other hand, they are very concerned with what California is going to offer their children,” Schnur said. “Even Californians who decided it’s worth the aggravation in order to stay here, they are still not certain … they are very, very skeptical that their children are going to have as high a standard of living and have as quality an experience in the state as they’ve had.”

A majority of Californians is also optimistic about the future of state politics, with 45 percent expressing that the state is “on the right track,” as opposed to 39 percent of those who disagree.

Sarah Dhanaphatana contributed to this report.