Irvine, Calif., July 2, 2025 — President Donald Trump's approval ratings among California residents are tanking while Gov. Gavin Newsom's favorability has improved, according to the latest UCI-OC Poll , administered by the University of California, Irvine School of Social Ecology.
In late May and early June, Newsom's approval ratings looked nearly as bad as those for Trump. Fifty-nine percent of Californians disapproved of the governor's job performance, nearly a third of them strongly at the time. Californians disapprove of Trump by more than a 2:1 ratio.
The federal government's clash with California over recent immigration raids seems to have improved Californians' impression of Newsom. Fifty-six percent of Californians now rate Newsom as "somewhat favorable" or "strongly favorable."
"There is no mistaking that Newsom's battle with Trump has been good for his standing in the state, certainly among Democrats and also with Independents," says Jon Gould, dean of the School of Social Ecology, who oversees the UCI-OC Poll. "Newsom has an upside, which may help him if he chooses to run for president."
Former Vice President Kamala Harris has not entered the gubernatorial race, but if she were a candidate, voters would prefer her, according to the Poll. When presented with a binary choice between Harris and an unnamed Republican, 41 percent of survey respondents chose Harris, 29 percent chose the Republican, 16 percent were undecided, and 14 percent said they would not vote. Harris maintains an 11 percent net favorability rating among Californians, the highest of candidates tested. Many respondents had never heard of several candidates, including those who have run statewide before.
"The path to governor seems well-paved for Vice President Harris if she decides to run. Although she lacks majority support at the moment, people know her better than the other candidates and generally view her favorably," Gould says.
The Poll also found that Californians believe the state is on the wrong track by a 2:1 margin. The rate is 4:1 among Republicans and nearly 3:1 for Independents, whereas Democrats are evenly split. Among racial and ethnic groups, African Americans are an exception in narrowly believing that the state is headed in the right direction. Across age groups, only those Californians over 80 believe the state is on the right track.
Asked about funding priorities for the state, 70 percent of Californians named housing. Indeed, 33 percent listed housing as the top priority, mentioned almost twice as often as the next highest priority — health care.
However, significant partisan differences exist.
"Republicans differ from other Californians in their lower prioritization of housing and higher ranking of regulation relief, just as Democrats diverge in their higher prioritization of health care and education and lower rank for law enforcement and public safety," Gould notes. "Perhaps the only issue on which there is broad agreement across partisan identification is the modest ranking for road and bridge maintenance and construction."
Overall, the study, which polled more than 4,600 California residents in three separate surveys, found a disenchanted electorate, one worried about the direction of the state and concerned about several key policy issues.
"We're in a period of disappointment and distrust," Gould says. "No one seems happy with anything. And, the chasm between Democrats and Republicans is real and shows no signs of faltering."
In addition, he says, "there has been a lot of talk — at least nationally — of the dire straits in which Democrats find themselves. In California, by contrast, Democrats may find their strength and future: they haven't lost some key voting groups yet, several voters' funding priorities (even among Independents) favor them, and Newsom just showed the potential political benefits of standing up to Trump. The question is whether the Democrats will be able to capitalize on those opportunities."
The full UCI-OC Poll report is available online
