Written by Vincent Cain
Senator Dianne Feinstein’s approval ratings have dropped to the lowest point in her nearly three decades in the Senate, with a measly 30% of California voters having a positive view of her job performance in a new poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.
Similar views of Vice President Kamala Harris have also come out, although a little better, with 38% approving and 46% disapproving of her job as the Vice President. Approval ratings of President Joe Biden are split evenly according to the poll, but like his Vice President, his ratings have nosedived since last summer nationwide.
With the pessimistic mood of California voters, two-thirds of which believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, the approval ratings of Democratic politicians Diane Feinstein and Kamala Harris stick out among the others, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the IGS poll.
“I was amazed at the disaffection for both of the women,” DiCamillo said.
Kamala Harris’ poll ratings have trailed after Biden’s, although it is not uncommon for a Vice President’s numbers to lag behind the President’s. However, nothing points to Harris getting a boost of support among California voters, despite her connection to the state.
Even in the areas in which she has a personal connection, such as the Bay Area where she spent most of her life, or Los Angeles, where she has a house with husband Douglas Emhoff, her approval ratings are only slightly above statewide averages.
“I get the sense from our polling the state hasn’t really warmed up to her as the sitting vice president,” DiCamillo said.
Particularly among young voters believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. Only 18% of registered voters between ages 18 and 29 think the country is on the right track.
“There’s frustration with the government and its inability to get a lot of things done,” DiCamillo said. “I don’t think they warm to this hyperpartisan world that they’re living in, either. There’s really a disaffection with politics that perhaps wasn’t there in the past.”
Photo Cred: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
