CA Voters Disapprove Of Newsom, Poll Finds

BERKELEY, CA — California voters’ opinion of Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken a turn, and not for the better, according to a recent poll by the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.

Of the 6,342 registered voters who took part in the late October poll, 49 percent disapproved of the governor’s job performance and 44 percent approved. The results marked the first time a significantly larger proportion of respondents disapproved than approved of Newsom in 11 such IGS polls conducted since he took office in 2019.

“The fall-off in governor’s approval ratings is broad-based and is particularly noteworthy among political moderates and No Party Preference voters, the state’s two major swing voter blocs,” wrote poll Director Mark DiCamillo in a summary of the results.

Regarding Newsom’s recent high-profile role in national Democratic politics, 45 percent of respondents approved and 43 percent disapproved.

“The dip in Newsom’s approval suggests that many Californians are concerned with how things are going in the state, which may give the governor less leeway to fully engage on the national stage,” IGS Co-Director Erick Schickler said in the results summary.

The decline in job performance approval spanned most major political and demographic voter subgroups.

Newsom spokesperson Nathan Click in a Los Angeles Times article cited a different poll conducted about two months earlier by the Public Policy Institute of California in which the governor's support was at 56 percent among likely voters.

Respondents to the IGS poll did have favorable opinions of Newsom's October trip to China and his appointment of Sen. Laphonza Butler, with 50 percent approving and 39 percent disapproving of the China visit and 37 percent approving and 30 percent disapproving of Butler’s appointment.