Early into his first term, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a 60% overall voter approval rating, according to a Berkeley IGS Poll conducted in mid-September.
But breaking down Newsom’s approval numbers by political party reveals a great partisan divide.
“Democrats overwhelmingly approve of the governor’s performance in office, with 86% giving a positive rating and just 13% offering a negative assessment,” says poll director Mark DiCamillo. “Republicans view of the governor is just the opposite, with 83% disapproving and 17% approving.”

Strong Support for New Vaccination Law

In other poll findings:

• 83% of registered voters support the state’s new child vaccination law. The legislation triggers reviews of vaccination exemptions given by doctors for diseases like the measles, mumps, and rubella for schools or daycare centers where immunization rates are below 95%.
• 71% of registered voters say they are concerned about California’s measles outbreak.  The voters who are most concerned about the outbreak also express the highest levels of support for the child vaccination law.
• Just 51% of Central Valley registered voters approve of Newsom’s performance. That contrasts to the governor’s 70% approval rating in the Bay Area. Newsom’s strongest supporters are women (65%), voters under 29 (69%) and African Americans (75%).

The Berkeley IGS Poll was conducted online in English and Spanish among a random sample of 4,527 of the state’s registered voters Sept. 13 – 18.