Poll: Harris holds double-digit lead over Sanchez in California Senate race

California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) holds a huge double-digit lead over opponent Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) in the first general election survey released one week after the state’s Senate primary.

A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted online by SurveyMonkey found Harris with 47 percent of support, compared to Sanchez, who received 22 percent. The survey was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

{mosads}Twenty-six percent of voters said they would abstain from voting in the fall election for retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-Calif.) seat.

Harris leads with every voter group with the exception of Hispanic voters, which Sanchez, a Hispanic congresswoman, won by 15 points, 45 to 30 percent.

The survey’s findings are a bad sign for Sanchez, who will need to rely on Republican voters to keep pace with Harris. But nearly two-thirds of GOP respondents in the poll said they would sit out of the race in November.

Sanchez, however, will get some outside help from a California GOP consultant who will work with a super-PAC to boost the congresswoman and help attract Republican voters.

Harris and Sanchez emerged from California’s jungle primary last Tuesday, in which all candidates ran against one another regardless of party, and blocked Republicans from getting a shot in the fall election.

Harris was the overwhelming front-runner in last week’s primary, capturing 40 percent of the vote. Sanchez came in second, trailing far behind the attorney general, with 19 percent.

Both Democratic candidates advanced to the runoff to fill the open seat, which will remain in Democratic hands.

The poll was conducted from June 7 to 10 and surveyed 1,553 registered voters, which includes 1,264 who say they cast ballots in last week’s Senate primary. The margin of error was 4 percentage points.