California Gov. Jerry Brown has some fairly strong support from voters so far at his two-month mark in office. But the legislature’s approval rating remains down in the dumps.
The latest Field Poll asked voters what they think of Brown’s job performance in his first couple of months. By a wide margin – but not a majority – they approve 48 percent to 21 percent, with nearly 1/3 of voters undecided. Not surprisingly, Democrats generally back the governor. But a 1/4 of Republicans do too, and only 35 percent of GOP voters disapprove. Independents like Brown only slightly less than the state average.
Brown’s approval rating isn’t quite as high as the last three governors early in their terms – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gray Davis and Pete Wilson – but his disapproval rating is lower than everyone but Davis.
As for the legislature, its approval rating did go up six points from last September – but only to 16 percent. Disapproval dropped from 80 percent last fall to 70 percent now.
