I imagine that this will be up to the voters of the state of California. They don't appear too happy with him:
Posted on Thu, Apr. 13, 2006
Governor's approval rating stuck in neutral
Field Poll number is the same as last June, although some critical voters are now undecided
By Aaron C. Davis
TIMES SACRAMENTO BUREAU
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's overall approval rating remains lodged just under 40 percent -- statistically unchanged since June -- according to a Field Poll released today.
Despite the low number, the poll's authors say the fine print hides good news for the governor -- continuing a trend of recent polling data that indicates the governor may slowly be winning back voters after a stinging rebuke at the polls in November's special election.
"His approval rating is stuck," said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo, "But there is some cause for optimism for the governor. Some people who were critical of the governor last year have moved onto the fence. They're more undecided now. They're not sure what to think since the governor's repositioned himself."
The key indicator, pollsters say, is the number of registered voters who now report having "no opinion" of the governor's job performance. That number has doubled from 7 percent to 14 percent since last fall.
While it may seem counter-intuitive, the more people undecided right now the better for Schwarzenegger because the difference is coming from a corresponding drop in those saying they "disapprove" of his performance.
"When politicians try to move from negative to positive, it really is a two-step process," DiCamillo said. "People don't go straight from negative to positive. They go from negative to undecided, and then maybe to positive."
Democrats on Wednesday, however, interpreted the governor's 39 percent approval rating as a "mediocre" report card that indicates he's vulnerable come November.
The governor's opponents also honed in on another key finding of the poll: A majority of Californians still believe the state "is seriously off on the wrong track." Field Poll has posed the question to voters dozens of times during the past five years and received consistently high negative remarks. The one exception was in September 2004 when more respondents than not said the state was heading in the right direction during Schwarzenegger's first year in office.
Schwarzenegger campaign press secretary Julie Soderlund said the governor is undeterred by the stalling numbers.
"We're happy with where we are at this point and look forward to continuing to talk about the issues important to California voters."
The latest Field Poll on the governor follows one released last week by San Jose State that pegged Schwarzenegger's approval rating at 45 percent among voters, up from 39 percent in January.
A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California late last month also found Schwarzenegger holding a solid lead over either of his Democratic challengers -- Treasurer Phil Angelides or Controller Steve Westly -- in a head-to-head battle, although 30 percent remained undecided.
If there was anything the Field Poll found the public supports, it's the governor's huge infrastructure proposal, which still remains just that -- a proposal.
Although the governor and legislature failed to reach a deal to put the plan on the June ballot, voters still favor the proposal to spend $200 billion on new roads, schools and levees by a margin of 57 percent to 30 percent.
If the governor and legislature lock horns over the plan again for the November ballot, voters were split over who they would support, as 41 percent said they would support the legislature and 38 percent said they would support Schwarzenegger.
Field interviewed 917 registered voters from April 3 to April 10, splitting the pool into two groups for questioning, and leaving a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.
, alas....
