Meg Whitman's lead over Poizner falls by 40 points

If you believe that Meg Whitman really was 50 points ahead of Steve Poizner in March, the news that her lead is down to 9 points in the latest poll from the Public Policy Institute of California will be stunning news indeed. Poizner was given up for dead by a lot of pundits. But after riding the anti-illegal immigrant wave, and hitting on Whitman over Goldman Sachs, Poizner is back among the living. And 31 percent of Republicans remain undecided, even though the campaigns have already spent $100 million on messages. "It just speaks to the fact that the candidates have a lot of work ahead of them to be successful in June," says PPIC president Mark Baldassare. Also, from the Sacto Bee:

The only clear winner of the Republican primary so far appears to be Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, who faces no major primary opponent and has barely spent any money on his campaign, Baldassare said.

The PPIC poll showed Brown leading Whitman by five points and Poizner by 13 points in a two-person general election matchup. The institute's March poll had put Brown behind Whitman by five points and ahead of Poizner by 15 points.

In the U.S. Senate races, Carly Fiorina and Tom Campbell are in a dead heat for the Republican nomination, with Democrat Barbara Boxer ahead of either.