By E.J. Schultz / Bee Capitol Bureau
SACRAMENTO — Down in the polls and behind in the money race, Fresno's Chuck Poochigian will have to make a come-from-behind charge if he is to upset Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown in the contest for state attorney general.
Helped by his high name recognition, Brown, a former governor and presidential candidate, has a 21-point lead over Poochigian, a Republican state senator, according to a Field Poll released last week.
The poll shows voters favoring Brown, a Democrat, 54% to 33%. Four out of five likely voters had an opinion on him. Just 16% of voters have an opinion on Poochigian.
With more than three months left before the election, Poochigian has plenty of time to close the gap. And at this point in the race, few voters are probably paying attention.
What could be more worrisome for Poochigian is Brown's fund-raising lead. Brown raised $981,743 from late May through June and has $5.2 million on hand. Poochigian raised $543,438 and has $3.6 million, according to the most recent filings.
Poochigian's campaign fell short of its goal of having $6 million on hand by the time the general election season started.
"Six million was the goal — if you don't get there, you don't get there," said Poochigian campaign strategist Ken Khachigian. "It does not mean we're not going to have resources in October and November. We just have to ... do a better job raising money between now and then."
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/12556788p-13268100c.html
