Et Tu, Cali? Obama Approval Crashes in Latest California Poll

by Joel B. Pollak

President Barack Obama's approval rating has plunged below 50% among registered voters in California in a new Field Poll released Tuesday, falling to 45%, with disapproval reaching 43%. At the start of the summer, Obama enjoyed his traditional cushion among California voters, with approval at 50% and negative ratings at a mere 39%, although disapproval was high outside the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas.

 

Setbacks on immigration policy and foreign policy have likely contributed to Obama's fall from grace in the Golden State. His ratings in California still outpace his poll numbers elsewhere, however, where his approval rating is only 42% and his disapproval rating is 52%, according to the RealClearPolitics poll average. Obama's drop in popularity occurred despite a modest recent improvement in economic conditions in California.
Update: The Field Poll notes:

This reading is the poorest appraisal of the job performance that Obama has received of his presidency and is in sharp contrast to the 62% favorable perception that California voters had of him at the beginning of his second term. Most of the recent decline in the President’s approval ratings has occurred among subgroups of voters who had been among Obama’s strongest supporters in prior polls...
The decline in Obama’s approval rating to 45% in the current poll is the lowest of his Presidency.

The poll was conducted among 1,280 registered voters in the state.