Donald Trump leads the Republican presidential field in California two months before the state’s primary, according to a new statewide poll of Republicans.
Trump leads Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, 37 percent to 30 percent, among registered Republicans in California, according to a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released Sunday. Ohio Gov. John Kasich trails with 12 percent.
But when it comes to those likely to vote in the state’s June 7 primary, the race is a statistical tie. Trump is at 36 percent and Cruz at 35 percent among likely voters.
Trump leads his rivals in most areas of the state, though Cruz does well with conservative voters in the Central Valley.
The poll also found that if Trump were to win the nomination outright after California’s primary, more than a quarter of registered Republicans in the state, 27 percent, say they would not vote for him in the general election.
June 7 is the last day of the Republican primary calendar. Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Carolina also hold their primaries on that day.
The poll was conducted by phone March 16-23, including 1,503 registered voters in California, 391 of which are registered Republicans. The margin of error for the full sample was plus or minus 5.5 points for the Republican primary sample.
