A rent-controlled apartment in the Bay Area is a coveted find that tenants will hang onto as long as possible. So why is a California ballot measure that would allow cities to expand rent control not just losing here, but trailing by a wider margin than it is statewide?

Proposition 10 was lagging in a recent poll of likely voters by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, 48 percent to 36 percent. In the Bay Area, it was losing, 32 percent to 54 percent — numbers that were especially discouraging for rent control advocates, given that the region has been the epicenter of soaring rents for years.

Mike Gibbs, a 69-year-old occupational psychologist in Los Gatos, was one of those surveyed for the poll. He said his daughter is in a rent-controlled apartment in San Francisco and couldn’t live in the city if not for annual limits on rent increases. But he said he’s not convinced rent control actually reduces housing costs.

“Rent control doesn’t work and it has unintended consequences,” Gibbs said. Echoing the main argument advanced by the measure’s opponents, he added, “I think it will make affordable housing less affordable because it hurts supply.”

Mark Baldassare, head of the Public Policy Institute of California and the poll’s director, said he thought Prop. 10 would resonate more with voters, especially in the Bay Area.

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“When it comes to housing affordability and homelessness, the Bay Area jumps out where this is a big issue,” Baldassare said. “I thought people would connect the dots between those and Prop. 10 more than they are.” To read the rest of the story, click here.

Deep dives and late takes

•Tough town: Gavin Newsom says there’s nothing Sacramento can throw at him if he’s elected governor that will be tougher than being San Francisco mayor. “I don’t think it gets more difficult than some of these folks” in city politics, the Democrat says.

•#HimToo: The Brett Kavanaugh episode has fueled a movement that formed in reaction to the activism of #MeToo: Men who say they’ve been unjustly accused of sexual abuse, or fear they will be.

•Harris on the trail: California Sen. Kamala Harris schedules a visit to first-caucus state Iowa, ramping up speculation that the Democrat will run for president in 2020.

•Instant incumbent: San Francisco Mayor London Breed gives one of the 18 people running for school board a huge boost: She appoints him to a vacant seat three weeks before election day.

•Enemy territory: Rep. Devin Nunes ridicules the Bay Area as the home of the “We hate Trump” crowd. But the Republican is happy to raise money here for his re-election campaign against a well-funded Democrat.

•Pothole politics: Opponents of a state ballot measure to repeal a gas-tax increase say the state has to fund road and transit improvements somehow. Here are some of the Bay Area projects that could be on hold if Proposition 6 passes.

•Independents day: A former Republican who is now running as an independent could be elected to statewide office. The race for insurance commissioner may be a sign of things to come.

•Shaping S.F.: San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors will get a makeover on Nov. 6 with elections in several districts. Here’s everything you need to know about the candidates in District Two and District Four.

•Tax deal: A measure on the state ballot would give many older homeowners a property-tax break if they relocate within California. Opponents say it’s the wrong way to try to free up housing in high-demand areas — but in a twist, it could help disaster victims.

•Democrats battle: The East Bay is the scene of an increasingly bitter race for state Assembly between a candidate who has the backing of much of the Democratic establishment and a progressive who has made her mark in local government.

•Twitter war: A pair of Bay Area tech titans take to Twitter to debate the merits of a San Francisco ballot measure that would tax big companies to pay for homeless programs.

•Dialysis dollars: One of the most expensive measures on the California ballot would impose price caps on dialysis clinics.

•Political doings: A San Francisco supervisors candidate debate and an Oakland forum on turning out the under-30 vote highlight the Bay Area political calendar.

•Everything you need: Complete coverage and endorsements in California’s election campaign: It’s all in The Chronicle’s Voter Guide.

The Political Punch newsletter publishes Tuesdays and Thursdays between noon and 3 p.m. It is produced by the staff of The San Francisco Chronicle and edited by politics editor Trapper Byrne. Email: tbyrne@sfchronicle.com