CBS 5 Poll: California's Democratic Leaders Lack Majority Approval Ratings
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) -- California's top elected Democratic officials all lack majority approval ratings, according to a new KPIX-TV CBS 5 poll of the state's voters that was released Tuesday.
Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer all failed to cross the 50% approval threshold in the poll conducted for CBS 5 by the firm SurveyUSA. President Barack Obama did manage to garner a 51% approval rating in the poll, but that is down four percentage points from a prior CBS 5 poll three months ago.
RELATED CONTENT: Download The Complete CBS 5 Poll Results Data (.pdf)
It was not immediately clear from the polling data whether the low approval numbers in the traditionally blue state of California suggest specific dissatisfaction with Democrats or a more general dissatisfaction with both the state and federal government.
Brown, who is grappling with a state budget crisis and has threatened more cutbacks if voters reject a tax measure on the November ballot, received a 44% approval rating in this latest CBS 5 poll - with 47% expressing disapproval.
Boxer, the state's junior senator who won a tough re-election bid in 2010, had a similar story to Brown's - with more people disapproving of her performance (44%) than approving of it (38%).
For the senior senator Feinstein, although on this November's ballot but not facing a major challenger, her situation was a bit different from either Brown or Boxer. The poll found a 46% plurality approved of her job performance, while 40% disapproved.
The CBS 5 poll surveyed 530 registered voters from July 13 to 15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3%.
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