A majority of Californians now disapprove of President Biden’s job performance, the first time his approval has gone negative in the state, according to a poll.
The University of California, Berkeley, survey found that 52 percent of Californians disapprove of Biden, while 44 percent approve of his job performance. A February edition of the same poll showed Biden with a 57 percent approval and 39 percent disapproval rating.
“The decline in the President’s job approval rating since May includes significant declines among the traditional Democratic voting blocs,” Berkeley polling director Mark DiCamillo said in a statement.
He pointed out that Biden’s approval had significantly decreased among women, Latinos, Asian Americans and young people.
The Berkeley poll found that a majority of Californians disapprove of Biden’s handling of inflation, crime, immigration and the Israel-Hamas war.
About 40 percent of Biden 2020 voters disapprove of his job performance, the poll found.
Biden would still beat former President Trump in a head-to-head match-up in California, but his margin of victory would be much smaller, the poll suggests.
Biden won California by about 30 points over Trump in 2020. His lead over Trump in the new poll, however, has fallen to just 15 points. Most of that shift reflects Biden voters being undecided in 2024, rather than Biden voters shifting to Trump.
In a 2024 match-up, Biden would lead Trump in California 46 percent to 31 percent, the poll found. The results were similar with notable independent candidates included.
The Berkeley poll questioned more than 6,000 likely California voters during the last week of October. It has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.