Written by Brock Johnson
A recent poll directed by the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the LA Times proves that Californians are losing trust in their Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom. Even though Newsom won a recall election just five months ago, it seems as though a strong majority of voters believe that the state is spiraling downward. A deeper dive into the poll shows why Newsom’s popularity is decreasing.
In regards to rising crime, the poll found that 51% of registered voters in California believe that Newsom has been doing a “poor” or “very poor” job of addressing the spike of crime within the state, up 16% from a poll in 2020. Californians are growing tired of increasing public safety concerns caused by smash-and-grab robberies and retail theft being commonplace in major cities. The survey covers Proposition 47, which is an initiative voted on in 2014 that reduced the penalties for crimes, showing that two-thirds of voters are now in favor of amending it. Proposition 57 which restructured the parole system in California in 2016, has been expanded by Newsom this year to grant good-behavior credits to an additional 76,000 prisoners to qualify for early release as reported by the LA Times.
The poll also showed that the homelessness crisis in California will be a hot topic for voters as around 66% of the people surveyed said that Newsom is doing a “poor” or “very poor” job of tending to the rise of homelessness, up 12% percent from the previous survey in 2020.
The director of the poll, Mark DiCamillo, commented on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Gov. Newsom’s approval ratings saying that Californians praised Newsom’s ability to handle the pandemic within the state but many believe the crisis is shrinking, decreasing its effect on his approval.
Coming off of Super Bowl weekend, much of the state lost trust in COVID policies in place after seeing 70,000+ maskless attendees at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles while children still need to wear masks to class.
As distrust in California Democrats increases, a couple of Republicans have emerged as potential challengers to Gov. Newsom. State Sen. Brian Dahle is considered to be the strongest opponent to Newsom. After the September recall election failed to remove Gov. Newsom, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced that he may run for governor in 2022 and he recently said that he will announce a decision soon.
In response to the poll, a spokesman for Newsom’s re-election campaign told the LA Times that Gov. Newsom “remains 100% focused on providing solutions to California’s most vexing challenges – from the pandemic and climate change to homelessness and public safety.”
While Newsom’s campaign remains confident in his actions, the public is increasingly losing confidence as crime, homelessness, and COVID restrictions plague the state as seen in the poll results.
Photo Cred: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
