A major California pollster found that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval rating is the highest it’s been in years.
The poll was conducted among 1,539 California adults between Jan. 13 and Jan. 20, before high-profile mass shootings in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park. In the aftermath of those shootings, Newsom received national attention for bashing Republicans over their opposition to gun control measures.
Newsom hit a high of 65% approval in PPIC polls early in 2020, but that figure steadily decreased through the year. Between 2021 and 2022, his approval rating in PPIC polls never exceeded 56% or fell below 52%.
The poll also found that President Joe Biden’s approval rating in California is unchanged from the 53% mark it was at in October. Biden’s California approval rating hasn’t been higher than 53% since September 2021. His low point was 50% in March and May of 2022.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy received some brutal numbers from the poll, with 28% of Californians saying they have a favorable impression of him, and 66% saying they have an unfavorable impression. Among Republicans, 56% view McCarthy favorably, and 40% view him unfavorably. McCarthy faced a revolt from his right during the speaker vote in January, but every member of California’s delegation backed him through all rounds of voting.
You can check out the full poll results from PPIC.
