California faces shrinking revenues, rising debt, unemployment, crime, natural disasters, pension problems, and the list continues. A majority of California voters elected Jerry Brown to handle these problems. Brown is only a few weeks into the job, but so far, Californians are split on how he’s handling his duties.
A new exclusive Action News poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, shows 43% of those responding “approve” of the job Jerry Brown is doing as Governor. 42% do not … 15% are not sure. Action News Political Analyst, Tony Capozzi, believes most Californians are still waiting to see what the new Governor tries to accomplish. Capozzi says “The Approval and Disapproval Rating are evenly divided since it is early in the Administration and the electorate is unsure as to how the Governor and the budget proposals will work out. The Governor's relationship with the Legislature will be a major factor in how the electorate views the Governor.”
As you might expect, Democrats surveyed in the poll give Brown very positive numbers with those who identify themselves as “Strong Democrats” handing him a 74% approval rating. By contrast, Republicans in the poll find the least favor with Brown. Those people surveyed who claim to be “Strong Republicans” give the Governor only a 26% approval rating with 68% disapproving of his job performance. That last number grows to 73% for those with a “Very Conservative” ideology. The poll results are split here in the Central Valley … 43% “approve” while 44% “disapprove”. 14% say they’re “not sure”. SurveyUSA questioned 600 adults for this poll between January 14th and January 17th, 2011.
The Action News poll, conducted by SurveyUSA, also tracked the “approval” ratings for President Obama, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, and the State Legislature. Only the President comes out on the positive side, but he has slipped in popularity from a previous poll conducted in November last year. (See my previous PJ blog: “A Presidential Job Review”). Despite a nine point victory in November, Senator Barbara Boxer still earned a majority of “disapprove” votes in this poll. The Lawmakers at the State Capitol remain, as a whole, extremely unpopular in our poll. Here are the numbers:
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as President?
51% Approve 45% Disapprove 4% Not Sure
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Dianne Feinstein is doing as U.S. Senator?
43% Approve 48% Disapprove 10% Not Sure
Do you approve or disapprove of the job Barbara Boxer is doing as U.S. Senator?
38% Approve 52% Disapprove 10% Not Sure
Do you approve of the job the State Legislature is doing?
14% Approve 76% Disapprove 10% Not Sure
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