Attorney General Jerry Brown has built a commanding lead over San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in the race for the Democratic nomination for governor, according to the latest Field Poll results released today.

On the Republican side, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman remains locked in a virtual tie with former Rep. Tom Campbell, but half of the voters are undecided. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner continues to place a distant third in his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, the nonpartisan poll found.

While rhetoric over voting records, past support for Democrats and other non-policy matters has heated up among the Republican candidates some eight months before the June 8 primary, the Field Poll found that GOP primary voters hadn't changed their minds much since they were last surveyed about the race in February and March.

"My take-away is voters aren't really interested in those kinds of squabbles," said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo. "Either that or they're not paying much attention to this yet."

While the GOP race remains static, Brown has improved upon his March showing among Democratic primary voters, although he hasn't formally announced his candidacy.

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