Field Poll Shows Huge Drop in Schwarzenegger Rating With California Voters

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

• Californians Feel State Headed in Wrong Direction by 68% to 23%
• Legislature as a Whole Disapproved by Large Margin

By Frank D. Russo

The California Field Poll has released results from their latest survey that show Arnold Schwarzenegger taking a precipitous tumble in his approval ratings from California registered voters. Schwarzenegger had approval ratings of 60% to 41% just six months ago. Today’s figures show that only 31% now approve of his performance as governor while 48% disapprove of it. This represents a swing from a positive net 19% to a negative net rating of 17%--a swing of 37 points within this short time period.

The state legislature as a whole has an approval rating of 30% to 57% disapproval, which is at a level it has generally be in for at least the last four years.

First the numbers from Field. Then an analysis of what they mean and how they square with other polling including the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

Schwarzenegger

During his four plus years as governor, Schwarzenegger has generally had more approval than disapproval in poll taken by Field. Aside from today’s poll numbers and a one year period from June of 2005 to May of 2006 when he veered to the right with a special election and a series of ballot measures that was resoundingly defeated by the voters, he has had approval numbers that have fluctuated from a high of 65% to 49%, greater than those disapproving. Today’s numbers put him in the range of where the voters were in 2005 and early 2006.

The only groups that Schwarzenegger has approval from beyond the margin of error are Republicans, by a 51% to 40% margin, moderate conservatives by 51% to 43%, and perhaps a what is described as a small sample of non Bay Area Northern California voters.

He is strongly disapproved of by Democrats (32% to 56%) and is within the margin of error with non-partisan/others (44% to 46%). He is overwhelmingly disapproved of by strongly liberal voters.