Capizzi Leading in Polls, Money for Atty. Gen. Race

Two recent polls and the latest campaign fund-raising reports show Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi as the front-runner in next year’s race for California attorney general.

Capizzi, who has not officially declared his candidacy, has nonetheless raised $276,000, nearly four times as much as fellow Republican David Stirling, chief deputy to current Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren.

Lungren is expected to seek the Republican nomination for governor.

The results are particularly significant in light of the strong public criticism of Capizzi by prominent local Republicans, including state party Chairman Michael Schroeder, for his prosecution of Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) and the chief of staff of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) for alleged violations of state election laws.

The Charlton Report on California issues, a survey of 600 registered voters likely to vote in the next election, showed Capizzi favored by 11%, compared to 10% for Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), president pro tem of the California Senate, 8% for Stirling, and 7% for state Sen. Charles Calderon (D-Whittier).

Among Republican voters only, Capizzi’s lead over Stirling was even greater, 15% to 10%.

The poll, which listed the party affiliations and the candidate designations as they would likely appear on the ballot, show Capizzi would fare well in an open primary where voters would be allowed to cast votes regardless of which party they belong to.

Capizzi, who said Tuesday he doesn’t expect to make a formal announcement until this fall, called his lead in the polls “very encouraging” and said his fund-raising “couldn’t be going better.”

The second poll, by Garin Hart & Yang, was commissioned by former Democratic Congresswoman Lynn Schenk, and did not identify candidates by their titles. It showed Capizzi and Stirling with 11% of likely voters, and Lockyer and Schenk with 8%.