A new Field Poll released Tuesday shows that 50% of registered voters in California approve of President Barack Obama’s job performance, while only 39% disapprove. However, there a striking divergence between the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas on the one hand, and the rest of the state on the other. Outside the coastal counties, the president’s disapproval rating in the Field Poll is 46%, while his approval rating is only 42%.
The president’s strong overall numbers in California are almost an exact mirror image of the president’s job approval rating average at RealClearPolitics, in which 41.6% approve and 54.1% disapprove of his performance.
The Field Poll notes the striking contrast in outlook: “For the past twelve months the proportion of Californians who say they approve of Obama’s job performance has remained relatively stable, ranging narrowly between 50% and 53%….By comparison, the latest average of national polls of the President’s performance shows a much more negative appraisal, with 42% of Americans approving and 54% disapproving.”
Ironically, Californians firmly believe the country is heading in the wrong direction: “a majority (52%) continues to see the country seriously off on the wrong track, while only 34% feel it is moving in the right direction,” the poll notes. Yet the state’s voters–at least, those living in liberal enclaves near the coast–do not blame President Obama for the country’s troubles. Congress enjoys only 12% approval in the poll. Women also approve far more strongly of President Obama than do men, who are evenly divided in their assessments.
The poll was conducted June 5-22 among 2,013 adults and 1,382 registered voters, with a margin of error of roughly 3%.
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