Is California Close? - Maybe And Maybe Not

Posted on the 01 June 2016 by Jobsanger

The cable news media (and Sanders supporters) have been crowing that the California Democratic primary is very close. But they are only looking at one poll -- the PPIC poll. There have actually been four polls -- two of them have the race as close, and the other two show Clinton with a substantial lead. The RealClearPolitics Average (which I tend to believe over any individual poll) has Clinton with a lead of 8.7 points.
The polls shown are:
Fox News Poll (4/18-4/21) 623 likely voters (4.0 point moe)
Hoover / Golden State Poll (5/4-16) 694 likely voters (no moe)
Public Policy Institute of California Poll (5/13-22) 552 likely voters (5.7 point moe)
KABD / SurveyUSA Poll (5/19-22) 803 likely voters (3.5 point moe)
I think Clinton will probably win California, but it really doesn't matter. By the time California polls close, New Jersey will already have given her enough delegates to clinch the nomination -- and no matter who wins, Clinton will come out of California with over 200 more delegates (which will just pad her winning delegate total).