Joe Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads Republican nominee John McCain by a large margin in California, and two of the most high-profile ballot measures are on the tipping point between passing and failing, according to a new survey released late Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California.

The ticket of Obama and Joe Biden leads McCain and Sarah Palin by a margin of 56-33 among likely voters, a 13-point gain for the Democratic ticket in the last month. Obama and Biden are doing particularly well among women, Latinos, younger voters and independents, according to the PPIC.

Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden nabbed a cool $2.2 million from three Bay Area fundraising events on Saturday.

Biden, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate, warned an appreciative crowd at the posh Atherton home of former state Controller Steve Westly that while poll numbers nationally are favoring the Democrats, the fight isn't over yet.

Biden, who said things could still get "ugly," recalled that Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry were also well ahead in polls just weeks before Election Day in 2000 and 2004, but both lost their presidential contests to President Bush.

"We've been here before. We've been poised to win the presidential election," Biden told the crowd in an Associated Press story released late Saturday. "The last two times we underestimated how successful virulent attacks are."

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, will make what observers think will likely be his last fundraising sweep through the Bay Area this Saturday.

Last night's vice presidential debate went off without a hitch or a headline-grabbing gaffe from either candidate, but local Republicans and Democrats came to different conclusions about their performances.

Melahat Rafiel, executive director of the Orange County Democratic Party, to said that it was a wash. 

"I don't think any particular candidate won or lost," Rafiel said. "I think Palin did a really good job of learning her talking points and talking about Ronald Reagan as much as she could."

This week's Winners & Losers: CLICK HERE

Golden State Congresswoman Lois Capps applauded Sen. Joe Biden's performance Thursday night in his debate with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP's vice presidential nominee.

In fact, following party lines, the Santa Barbara Democrat didn't mention Palin's performance once in this statement:

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Tonight's vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden is the talk of the political universe. Whatever happens in St. Louis, however, is unlikely to change things in Orange County, where Palin’s emergence on the national scene last month has energized Republicans and Democrats alike.

SAN FRANCISCO - The Public Policy Institute of California released the results of a poll Wednesday showing that Californians are widely supporting the Democratic presidential ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden this November.