San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan spent today touting a post that claimed a KRON4 poll suddenly put him in first place in the crowded California governor’s race, with 46 percent support after last night’s debate. Shared from his official account, the message cast the televised showdown as a breakout moment for his candidacy. If those numbers were accurate, the primary landscape would be dramatically different, but the scientific surveys available tell a very different story.
The post Mahan boosted reproduces a set of numbers attributed to KRON4 that list Mahan at 46 percent, Steve Hilton at 15 percent, Tom Steyer at 12 percent, Xavier Becerra at 11 percent, Katie Porter at 8 percent and Chad Bianco at 6 percent. The tweet does not include any polling methodology or sample-size details, and it was posted from the mayor’s official account. According to First To Hear It, the figures were presented as coming after the statewide debate broadcast…