Hertzberg has a slight lead over Horvath in race for L.A. County supervisor, new poll suggests
The incumbent is leading by only 2 percentage points, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The poll of 600 likely voters, taken Sept. 6-14, gave Hertzberg 48% support to Horvath’s 45% in a race that has been characterized as a contest between the two candidates’ progressive views on climate change and rent control.
“If we look at this whole issue of Los Angeles County Supervisor, it is really an issue of economic policy,” said John Husing, who conducted the poll along with Stephen Levy and Andrew Harrer of the Public Policy Institute. “This is a very tough election and in terms of issues, it is a really tough election.”
Sixty-four percent of those polled said they would prefer Hertzberg as their next county supervisor over Horvath, who is a former member of the L.A. County Democratic Central Committee.
About a third of likely voters said they would vote for Horvath, while 21% said they would vote for Hertzberg. The survey was conducted prior to the September 18 primary election.
The poll showed that although Horvath had a slight lead over Hertzberg, both candidates were far from tied.
The Public Policy Institute did not provide details of the sample, and it did not provide breakdowns of the likely voters who did or did not select Horvath.
A number of public pollsters have said they would be willing to work with Hertzberg to ask voters about Horvath, but none have done so.
The survey shows that about 7% of likely voters said they would vote for Horvath, while 28% said they would vote for Hertzberg.
The Public Policy Institute provided detailed results of its own poll on the subject. It found that while 57% of likely voters support policies like rent control and limits on growth, 39% said they oppose these policies and 12% are undecided.
More than 8% of polled voters supported a ballot measure put before voters by the county’s Democratic