Gov. Gavin Newsom is halfway through his four-year term. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo/Pool
Even as 59% of Californians expect the state to be bogged down by widespread unemployment and financial depression for the next five years, 58% approve of how Gov. Gavin Newsom is handling the economy.
The findings, from a statewide Public Policy Institute of California survey, released late Wednesday, come as the state braces for another economic hit. Greater Sacramento will tonight become the third region to shutter vast swaths of its economy after its ICU capacity on Wednesday dropped below 15%. But even as cash-strapped businesses and frustrated residents demand data justifying Newsom’s restrictions, support for the governor seems steady. Newsom had an approval rating of 58% in October, identical to this month’s marks for his approach to the economy. (The survey was conducted from Nov. 4-23, before the new regional shutdown was announced.)
Nevertheless, the governor is approaching an inflection point — and how he handles it will determine a lot about his political future, CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall reports. Next month, Newsom will enter the second half of his first term, key for his re-election prospects in 2022. Already, there is a challenger waiting in the wings: Kevin Faulconer, San Diego’s outgoing GOP mayor. And Newsom has a lot of challenges to overcome.
- Roger Salazar, a Democratic political consultant: “How he gets through the pandemic, restarting the economy and putting behind these missteps — whether the personal one like the French Laundry or institutional ones like (the unemployment department) — he’s got to be able to say ‘I came, I saw, I solved it.'”
With a new chief of staff, a new public health director and a soon-to-be new unemployment department director — plus a Californian as vice president — Newsom has opportunities to reboot. But he will also have to contend with Californians’ deepening economic anxieties. According to the PPIC survey:
- 26% of Californians are seriously considering moving out of state due to a lack of well-paying jobs.
- 26% worry every day about the cost of housing.
- 45% don’t think the American Dream — that if you work hard you’ll get ahead — holds true anymore.
- 63% say that when California children grow up, they will be worse off financially than their parents.
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The coronavirus bottom line: As of 9 p.m. Wednesday night, California had 1,420,558 confirmed coronavirus cases and 20,243 deaths from the virus, according to a CalMatters tracker.
CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
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