A new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, in association with the LA Times, showed that the Republican candidates and celebrity Caitlyn Jenner have not made much of a dent in the recall vote. The campaign against Newsom is not gaining any momentum despite the approaching recall date. On the other hand, a larger number of Californians are coming around to the idea of keeping him in office.
According to the survey, which will be a big disappointment for Caitlyn Jenner, only 6 percent of the Californians who were polled said that they would vote for the former Olympian to replace Newsom. The poll also showed that former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Rancho Santa Fe businessman John Cox polled 22 percent of the votes, while 14 percent said that they would vote for former Northern California representative Doug Ose.
Mark Di Camillo, the director of the poll, said that Jenner had low support in general and also among the Republicans, among whom only 13 percent said that they would vote for her, despite the media attention she has gained by standing against Newsom.
However, Newsom has gained a small increase from January. About 90 percent of Californians said that they approved of him as governor though it was below his polling numbers in September, where he had 95 percent of the popular vote in the state.
Di Camillo, the poll director said that Newsom’s diminished popularity from September was his soft spot and his opponents would do their best to capitalize on it. They would look to exploit the strong voter discontentment on how the following issues: the crisis of homelessness, affordability of housing in the state and the crime rate, were handled by him.
The recent budget surplus of over $75 billion has come as a shot in the arm for Newsom, along with the good vaccination drive in California. However, DiCamillo says that if the focus shifts away from the pandemic to issues facing the state, Governor Newsom is “gonna have some work cut out for himself.”
Historically, Democrats have an edge over the Republican in California. However, Republican are hoping that the enthusiasm and eagerness of the recall supporters and the huge amount of money spent to put forth and sustain the recall campaign will break the traditional gap between the GOP and Democrats and give them victory in the recall.
