In the latest field poll, State Controller Steve Westly leads State Treasurer Phil Angelides by eleven points -- a reversal from two months ago when the treasurer was ahead by 8.   Sacramento State Politics and Media Professor Dr. Barbara O’connor says both the positive quality – and the quantity of the Controller’s ads are having an effect:

 “They have clearly created an image in a time of unclutter that he is a different kind of person and is going to lead the state in a different direction.”

O’Connor characterizes the Angelides’ campaign as textbook Democratic – and she says people are hungry for something different:

“People are very tired of traditional politics and this may be the case study that we look at years down the road and say this is when the earth shifted.”

In a matchup with Governor Schwarzenegger, the latest field poll shows the incumbent tied with westly – and slightly ahead of Angelides.