Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has built a sizable lead over her two GOP rivals about a month and a half after she began running statewide radio advertisements, according to a poll by the Capitol Weekly newspaper and the private firm Probolsky Research.
The poll, described here in the Capitol Weekly, found Whitman, the former CEO of online auction firm eBay, winning the support of 34.3 percent of 269 Republican respondents while former Congressman Tom Campbell won 12.5 percent and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner had 5.5 percent of Republican support.
A Field Poll released last month found Whitman winning 22 percent of Republican support with Campbell at 20 percent and Poizner at 9 percent. That poll surveyed 373 Republican primary voters.
Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said about the Capitol Weekly poll, "California voters are supporting Meg Whitman because she has a successful business record and real-world experience creating thousands of jobs. She's not just another career politician."
Poizner spokesman Jarrod Agen said Whitman's ads were buying her name identification and that most voters weren't paying attention yet. Both Poizner and Whitman are wealthy former Silicon Valley executives self-financing much of their campaigns.
"The score only matters after the ninth inning, and we're not even out of the second inning yet," Agen said. "We've got several months ahead of campaigning around the state on our message of cutting taxes, creating jobs and reducing spending."
Campbell spokesman Jamie Fisfis agreed that the radio ads were paying off for Whitman but said "We're happy with where we are."
Read the poll here.
Torey Van Oot and the Bee Capitol Bureau report on the people and politics of California government. Get 
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