May 1, 2008

Sacramentans approve of Governor overall, but dislike how
he handles education, health care, budget and taxes

Full Report

A new Sacramento State survey shows area residents approve of Governor Schwarzenegger’s overall performance as Governor (58 percent) more than other residents across California (44 percent).
           
The survey, conducted by Sacramento State Professor Amy Liu and her students through the University’s Institute for Social Research, found that the Governor’s overall popularity (58 percent approve) contrasts with low approval on some key issues, particularly public education (56 percent disapprove versus 32 percent approve), healthcare (54 percent disapprove versus 30 percent approve), the economy (49 percent disapprove versus 36 percent approve) and the state budget and taxes (47 disapprove versus 39 percent approve).
           
This represents the opposite of what happened to then-Governor Davis in 2003 when he was facing similar budget challenges to what Schwarzenegger is facing today. At that time, 69 percent of Sacramentans criticized Davis’ overall job performance, and only 24 percent offered a positive rating. Also, Davis’ job evaluation was more negative in the Sacramento region (only a 24 percent approval rating) than in the state as a whole (33 percent approval).
           
Other findings include:

• Schwarzenegger’s approval ratings in Sacramento are consistent in the past two years. In 2006, 49 percent or Sacramentans approved versus 35 percent in California, and in 2004, 65 percent of Sacramentans approved versus 55 percent in California.
• Democrats are split on the issue of Schwarzenegger’s performance, with 47 percent expressing favorable views and 44 percent holding the opposite opinion. However, Democrats overwhelmingly criticize how he tackles public education (68 percent), healthcare (64 percent), the economy (58 percent) and the state budget and taxes (58 percent).
• Republicans (75 percent) are the most likely to approve of the overall job performance of Governor Schwarzenegger.
• Governor Schwarzenegger also enjoys a great deal of endorsement from independents and voters from other parties (60 percent). However, more than half of the independents and other voters dislike the way he handles healthcare (58 percent), the economy (54 percent), and public education (52 percent).
• Governor Schwarzenegger receives more support in suburbs and from white and higher income residents

The survey was a computer-assisted telephone survey of 1,200 randomly selected adults from Sacramento, Yolo, Placer and El Dorado counties. It has a margin of error of 3 percent.

The full report is available at www.csus.edu/news. More information is available by contacting Liu at amyliuus@yahoo.com or at (916) 278-7572. For media assistance, contact Sacramento State’s Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156.