Californians' opposition to offshore oil drilling has skyrocketed in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, while two-thirds of residents support the state's landmark climate change law and believe it will create jobs, a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows.
The findings present a challenge for Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman and U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, who like the idea of drilling as a revenue source for the state and want to back away from the climate law, saying it's a job-killer.
At the same time, the poll shows that Whitman, who has spent nearly $91 million of her own money, lags behind Jerry Brown, her Democratic rival in the November election, 37 to 34 percent. Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, trails Democratic incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer 39 to 34 percent.
