Getty Images/Justin Sullivan

Gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown speaks at a campaign rally in Los Angeles Nov. 1, 2010

A new poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California gives an indication of just how overwhelming the support among Latinos was for Jerry Brown as he swept aside Meg Whitman to take the governor’s office on Nov. 2.

According to the most recent poll, three out of four Latino voters and 59 percent of women voters say they sided with the Democrat, even as other cross-sections of voters, such as men and whites, seemed to be much more evenly split between Brown and Whitman.

Latinos now make up roughly 20 percent of the state's electorate.

The latest figure appeared to dwarf election day exit polls that showed Brown leading Whitman by roughly 30 points among Latinos.

Whitman, who ultimately lost by 13 percentage points (54 to 41 percent), had rolled out one of the most extensive and costly Latino outreach operations in state history, with millions spent on Spanish-language advertising and dedicated field offices in areas like East Los Angeles.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat, also benefited from overwhelming support from Latinos (62 percent) and women (58 percent).

Proposition 19

Who snuffed out Proposition 19, the measure to legalize recreational marijuana use?

According to the PPIC, it was a wide range of voters: Republicans (73 percent said no), Latinos (60 percent), whites (53 percent) women (58 percent) and voters over 35 (58 percent).

And the prediction, among some, that those who really wanted legalized weed would come out en masse — like when Measure Z was up for a vote in Oakland in 2004 — didn’t pan out, either.

Just 18 percent of those who voted yes deemed the outcome of the referendum “very important” to them, while 51 percent who voted no felt that way.

The failure of Prop. 19 may have had more to do with the specific language of the measure than with the notion of legalizing marijuana, the poll suggested. 

When asked whether they generally support legalization, 49 percent of voters said yes and 49 percent said no. Of those who voted against Prop. 19, 11 percent said that they support legalization in general.