SAN FRANCISCO - (INT) - California’s likely voters favor Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a wide margin, and most say they are very interested in the upcoming presidential debates. When likely voters are asked what they would like to hear the candidates talk about, they are more likely to name jobs and the economy than any other issue.

Those are among the top findings of a statewide survey released Wednesday night by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

Clinton leads Trump by 16 points (47% to 31%) among California likely voters. Her lead was 16 points in July (46% Clinton, 30% Trump), when the survey did not include the names of the candidates’ running mates, Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence. Clinton leads Trump in all age, education, and income groups. Among other results:
· Clinton and Trump have strong majority support in their own parties: 83 percent of Democrats favor Clinton and 73 percent of Republicans favor Trump. Clinton leads slightly among independents (40% to 32%).

· Men support Clinton over Trump (41% to 30%), and women favor her by an even larger margin (52% to 32%).

· Across racial/ethnic groups, whites are divided (39% Clinton, 37% Trump). Clinton leads Trump by large margins among Latinos (62% to 19%) and other racial/ethnic groups (59% to 19%). Sample sizes of Asian American and African American likely voters are too small for separate analysis.
An overwhelming majority of likely voters (90%) say they are interested in the presidential debates, and 62 percent say they are very interested. Jobs and the economy ranks as the top issue (30%) likely voters would like the candidates to talk about. Immigration and illegal immigration is a distant second (16%).

Story Date: September 27, 2016