A new independent poll finds Rep. Eric Swalwell overtaking Republican Chad Bianco, which is good news for those of us who don't want a Republican v. Republican governor's race.

It seems that Congressman Eric Swalwell has, since announcing his candidacy in November, gained some traction with California voters, despite the fact that this governor's race feels very drowned out by national news lately. And maybe that endorsement from Senator Adam Schiff helped a bit.

A new Emerson College poll finds Swalwell up by two percentage points from the last poll, at 14.1%, with Republican Steve Hilton holding on to his lead and surging further ahead, at 17.1%. Former Congresswoman Katie Porter sits at 9.8%, with her support sliding by one point since a December poll. Tom Steyer is at 8.8%, and recently announced candidate Matt Mahan, the mayor of San Jose, sits at 3.4%.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who would probably like to see ICE on every street corner across the state and some more buildings named after Trump, sits at 13.5% — still, alarmingly, just six-tenths of a percent behind Swalwell.

But a Democrat — any Democrat really! — gaining traction in the race is good news, because a month ago it was beginning to look like a real possibility that the two highest vote-getters in this Democrat-clogged race could be Hilton and Bianco, which would guarantee that the governor's office would be handed over to a Republican.

Hilton, born in the UK the son of Hungarian immigrants, is a former director of strategy for British Prime Minister David Cameron, and a current or former Fox News contributor, depending on who you ask. Given the state's largely Demoratic electorate, Hilton would not likely be elected in November if he were running against a Democrat, but he currently has a slight fundraising advantage and can't be entirely counted out. If elected, he'd be the first Republican to lead the state in 20 years, since Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hilton celebrated the latest poll numbers, as Bay Area News Group reports, saying in a release that this news "confirms what we’re seeing on the ground at our Town Halls up and down the state."

21% of the 1,000 voters queried in this poll remain undecided.

Fundraising among the Democratic candidates has likely lagged because there are so many of them, and donors don't want to waste their money until this field shakes out. Swalwell, for his part, boasts early donations from celebrtities John Hamm, Sean Penn, and Robert DeNiro, as CalMatters reports. He and Katie Porter began February with around $3 million in the bank — with Porter's coffers largely filled by small-dollar donations last year.

Hilton has been telling supporters that Bianco could actually end up acting as the spoiler in this race, if the Republican vote continues being divided down the middle, giving an advantage to Democrats in the June primary. As Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a relase, the "Republican electorate in California is split between Steve Hilton (38%) and Chad Bianco (37%), while Hilton also picks up a plurality of independent voter support at 22%."

Meanwhile, 23% of Democrats are behind Swalwell, and 14% are behind Porter, with 22% of Democrats still undecided. Other candidates are trailing in the single digits, including former health secretary and Attorney General Xavier Becerra (3.5%), former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (2.8%), state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond (2.1%), and former state Controller Betty Yee (1.8%).

Previously: Republicans Could Seize Advantage In California Governor's Race If Too Many Democrats Run

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