The first poll of voters in California’s 36th district shows a neck-and-neck race between the two top Democrats vying to replace Rep. Jane Harman, who will make her resignation official next week.

The poll was conducted by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling, commissioned by Progressive Change Campaign Committee and obtained by Roll Call. It shows California Secretary of State Debra Bowen leading Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn by 4 points, just outside the poll’s 3.3-point margin of error. The poll of 890 voters in the district was taken Feb. 17 and 18.

The poll attempted to show what would influence voters in the race. The results showed 28 percent would vote for a candidate who is “promising to create jobs” and 26 percent would vote for a candidate who is “promising to make government more transparent and accountable.” The next issue was 17 percent for a candidate who is “ promising to crack down on Wall Street and hold big corporations accountable.” The results also showed voters in the district think it is more important for government to create jobs than reduce the deficit: 51 percent to 40 percent.

PCCC co-founder Adam Green said the results indicate voters want a “bold progressive candidate.”

“These specific polls numbers are significant because they cut against the Republican narrative that says the deficit is prime and that the way to create jobs is to give tax giveaways to big corporations — instead, voters say jobs is prime and the way to create them is through government investment,” Green said. “That’s big. The PCCC will continue our due diligence in this district in order to assess the most progressive, competent, and viable candidate — and will make a decision about endorsing at the end of our due diligence process.”

As Roll Call has reported, Marcy Winograd, a liberal activist and high school teacher who challenged Harman in the 2006 and 2010 Democratic primaries, has suggested she might also be interested in running. She has pressed Bowen and Hahn to speak about their positions on funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Also in the race is Redondo Beach City Attorney Mike Webb (R).

The full results of the PCCC poll will be released later Tuesday.

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