Make California Post a Preferred Source California voters don’t seem to be feeling as good as they once did about terming-out Gov. Gavin Newsom heading into the November midterm elections, according to a recent poll by Politico and the UC Berkeley Citrin Center.
In the poll, conducted September 8 to 14 on 2,418 registered voters, 42% of registered voters approved of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s job performance while 55% disapproved.
That’s a slight decline from back in March, Politico reported, when its poll showed 46% favorability for the Democrat and 51% disapproval.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom meets with reporters outside United Nations Headquarters in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Kyle Mazza/CNP/INSTARimages Much of that decline stems from Republicans’ and independents’ worsening views of Newsom, who is eyeing a presidential run. As of this month, a whopping 96% of California Republicans and 78% of independents disapproved of his job performance.
State Democrats in the poll still approved of the governor at a 72%-25% split.
“People are pretty dour on the state,” Jon Cohen, founder and CEO of TrueDot, told Politico. TrueDot fielded the poll.
“That’s not reflected in taking out Democrats at the ballot, at least not at the top of the ticket. But I think his approval rating is reflective of other assessments about the direction of the state,” Cohen said.
Surveys by other organizations also suggest the California governor’s job approval dipping in recent months.
Governor Gavin Newsom is pictured during the signing of AB 2319 at the Television Academy on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Nick Schultz, establishes California’s first post-production tax credit, aimed at retaining film and television work in the state. AP Photo/Phil Mccarten According to polling trends from the Public Policy Institute of California, 51% of likely voters this month approved of his job while 49% disapproved. Back in May, that was 54% and 46%, respectively.
His approval rating among all California adults, however, has held steady at around 51% approval to 47% disapproval this year, according to PPIC.
Still, Newsom’s favorability ratings have been noticeably lower than late last year, when his approval hovered as high as 56% according to some polling. Back then, he was enjoying a boost from a redistricting election win that was meant to counter President Donald Trump, experts said.
The new numbers come as Newsom pursues a potential White House bid, with the same Politico poll finding that 37% of registered California voters said they would be excited about that prospect. That’s a decline from earlier in the year, when 48% of registered voters said they were excited about a Newsom bid.
The term-limited governor, who is also under a DOJ investigation along with his wife, is publicly weighing his political future but vowed not to run for president against fellow Californian Kamala Harris, telling CNN he would not challenge the former vice president.
“I don’t know if she runs but we’ll see,” Newsom said in Montana. “But I wouldn’t run if she ran.”
The Post reached out to the governor’s office for comment.
