A new poll finds that California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval rating has reached an all-time low among Californians.
Driving the news: His approval rating among California voters sits underwater at 44 percent, with 49 percent of California voters disapproving of his performance as governor, the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times Poll found.
- This is an 11-point drop from February when 55 percent of voters approved of his performance.
- The polling indicates that Newsom’s declining popularity can be attributed to his elevated national profile, campaigning outside of California to support President Biden, and criticizing Republican governors and their conservative policies.
- Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley poll and a California pollster, stated that Newsom is no longer just the governor of California and the voters are being asked to react to that. “He’s kind of taking on a new persona,” he added.
- The governor’s decline in popularity is consistent across every major voter group, including significant drops among his Democratic base and voters who aren’t affiliated with either party. While Newsom still enjoys 66% approval from voters in his own party, his support from Democrats has dropped from 16 points in February to 25%, with similar dips among moderate and liberal voters.
The other side: Nathan Click, a spokesperson for the governor, pointed out a separate poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, which claimed that Newsom’s support was much higher at 56% among likely voters overall. However, he didn’t mention that the Berkeley poll’s findings were among registered voters, a broader pool of Californians.
- The poll also revealed that voters overwhelmingly support Proposition 1, Newsom’s $6.4-billion mental health bond on the March 2024 ballot. After reading a description of the measure, 60 percent of likely voters backed the idea, 17 percent were opposed, and 23 percent remained undecided.
