Gavin Newsom appears poised to leave Sacramento with a deeply unfavorable report card from California voters.
A new poll shows 62% of registered voters rating his overall tenure as fair or poor. Respondents were particularly critical of his record on homelessness, housing, taxes, state spending and artificial intelligence, while nearly two-thirds said they want the next governor to move California in a new direction.
Only 36% described Newsom’s overall performance as excellent or good in the survey by TrueDot, conducted in partnership with UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center and Politico.
The largest share of respondents, 39%, gave him a poor rating. Just 11% said his performance was excellent.
Homelessness drew the sharpest criticism. Seventy-two percent said Newsom had handled the issue either not too well or not at all well, while only about one-quarter viewed his performance positively.
The criticism extended into Newsom’s own political base. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters also gave him negative marks on homelessness.
Housing produced similarly poor results, with 69% of voters disapproving of Newsom’s handling of the issue and 28% approving. Among Democrats and Democratic leaners, 52% rated his performance negatively.
Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon offered a far more positive assessment, pointing to the governor’s electoral record, including his 2021 victory against a recall effort and the passage of Proposition 50, last year’s congressional redistricting vote.
“Gavin Newsom overwhelmingly won five elections in eight years and is the most popular outgoing governor in the history of PPIC polling the question,” Gardon wrote in a text message to the California Post. “It’s a shame America’s Favorite Governor can’t run for another term — he’d crush it!”
When asked whether California’s next governor should largely preserve Newsom’s policies or pursue a different course, 62% favored a change. Only 28% wanted his approach continued, while 10% were undecided.
Even among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, support for maintaining Newsom’s policies fell below half. Forty-nine percent favored continuity, compared with 37% who wanted a different direction.
“Gov. Newsom frequently spins us around by saying California has the fourth largest economy in the world and has many firsts,” said Corrin Rankin, chairwoman of the California Republican Party. “But the reality of Newsom’s record of firsts are being number one in the country for the worst poverty, unemployment, cost-of-living, fraud, housing availability, income inequality and standardized test scores.”
Rankin also faulted Newsom for low student test scores and for leaving college graduates unable to “afford homes, pay their bills or get good jobs.”
“When 62% of Californians are unsatisfied with him, it’s easy to see that his presidential aspirations will be taking a ride on California’s high-speed rail to nowhere,” Rankin said.
Independent voters and those in other categories were even more decisive: 76% wanted the state to change course, while just 11% supported continuing Newsom’s approach.
Taxes and state spending also ranked among Newsom’s weak points. Sixty percent rated his handling of taxes negatively, compared with 35% who approved. More than half viewed his management of state spending unfavorably, while 39% gave it a positive rating.
Voters were also more likely to disapprove than approve of Newsom’s handling of artificial intelligence regulation. Forty-three percent said he had handled the issue poorly, compared with 35% who said he had done well. Nearly one-quarter were unsure.
Climate change was the only issue in the survey where Newsom received a favorable overall assessment. Half of voters said he had handled it well, while 40% disagreed.
Still, dissatisfaction with Newsom has not translated into broad support for a Republican successor.
Among likely voters, Democrat Xavier Becerra led Republican Steve Hilton by 55% to 35%, with 10% undecided.
Becerra’s campaign, which was endorsed by the current governor, did not respond to requests for comment on how his administration would differ from Newsom’s.
HiIton told The Post that poll findings show the last 16 years under Democratic governors — Newsom and former Gov. Jerry Brown — have been a “massive failure” and voters want change.
“The only way to get change is to vote for me as governor. Becerra would be four more years of one-party rule — but even worse than Newsom,” Hilton said. “He wouldn’t push back on any of the costs and craziness coming out of Sacramento. For everyone who is desperate for change and may be reluctant to vote Republican, I would say: Just try it.”
The online voter survey interviewed 1,149 California registered voters in English and Spanish from Oct. 9–14, including 909 likely voters.
The survey also exposed a gap between ordinary voters and the participating “policy influencers,” who were surveyed separately.
A separate survey of 213 influencers — who include political staffers, lobbyists, policy advisers and others dialed in to California politics, according to Politico — found they were more likely to back Newsom’s performance as governor.
Among those insiders, 52% rated Newsom’s overall performance excellent or good — compared with 36% of voters. They were also substantially more positive about his handling of taxes and climate change.
But even that crowd had its limits: 52% wanted California’s next governor to take a different direction.
