A recent California field poll released by the Field Research Corporation revealed President Barack Obama’s job performance rating among state voters has taken a 10-point drop since the Field Poll’s last measure in February 2013. Then, 62 percent of the state’s voters approved of the job he was doing. Now, the president’s approval rating stands at 52 percent.
The largest decline in Obama’s job appraisals is seen among segments of the California electorate that have historically given him high marks. These include registered Democrats and non-partisans, women, and voters younger than 40. Each show double-digit declines in approval from February. “Apart from how Californians view the job Obama is doing, 57 percent say they have a favorable opinion of the president overall, while 35 percent hold an unfavorable view,” Field Poll writers Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field said in a report released to the media. “Majorities of this state’s voters have consistently viewed Obama favorably throughout his tenure as president, and their current image rating is identical to the assessment voters gave him shortly before his re-election last year. What’s changed is that 9 percent of all voters and 11 percent of rank-and-file Democrats who view Obama favorably now disapprove or are undecided about his job performance.”
This article appears in Aug 1-8, 2013.