Features

SAN FRANCISCO — Republican Tom Campbell remains far behind incumbent Dianne Feinstein in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a poll by the San Francisco Examiner and KTVU-TV. 

The poll shows Democrat Feinstein with support from 53 percent of those polled, while Campbell has support from 38 percent. 

Campbell also does not have name recognition among voters, according to the poll, which showed nearly four of every 10 voters surveyed did not know who he was or had no opinion of him. 

The congressman from San Jose is a known maverick, a pro-choice, pro-gun control Republican who won’t take money from Political Action Committees. 

One of Campbell’s big challenges will be giving voters a reason to unseat Feinstein, who “hasn’t made any major mistakes in Washington or in California,” said Tim Hodson, director of the Center for California Studies and a political science professor at Cal State Sacramento. 

A Los Angeles Times poll conducted Oct. 19 to Oct. 23, found an even bigger discrepancy. It showed Feinstein leading Campbell 60 percent to 35 percent overall and among every group polled except white males. 

The Examiner/KTVU poll was taken Sunday through Wednesday of 822 likely voters by Research 2000 of Rockville, Md. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.