Support for Props 1 and 30 + Voters prefer House Democrats + Newsom’s numbers hold steady

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

POLLS LOOK GOOD FOR TWO BALLOT MEASURES

With less than two months to go before the 2022 midterm elections, prospects for two ballot measures — Proposition 1, to enshrine abortion in the California Constitution, and Proposition 30, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — are looking pretty good.

The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,060 likely voters between Sept. 2 and Sept. 11 and released the results, which have a 5.4% sampling error for likely voters, late Wednesday evening.

It found strong majority support for Prop. 1 and a smaller majority for Prop. 30. Only one in three, however, support Prop. 27, which would legalize on online sports gambling.

“Of these three ballot measures, California likely voters are most likely to say the election outcome on Prop. 1 is very important to them — with Democrats far more likely than Republicans to hold this perception.” Mark Baldassare, PPIC president and CEO, said in a statement.

The survey found that 69% of likely voters support Prop. 1, while 25% oppose it. For Prop. 30, 55% support the measure and 40% oppose.

A majority of likely voters (54%) oppose Proposition 27.

Democrats (73%) and independents (51%) say that Prop. 1 is very important, while 48% of Republicans believe it is.

VOTERS PREFER DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESSIONAL RACES

That same PPIC survey found that Democrats enjoy a majority of voter support in U.S. House races across the state.

The poll found that 60% of likely voters said that if the election were held today, they would vote or lean toward the Democratic candidate in their congressional district.

Voters aren’t entirely convinced that this election is more important than past ones, however; just 43% believe that to be the case, compared to 54% who say the importance is about the same.

Republicans (52%) are more likely than Democrats (45%) and independents (37%) to believe voting this year is more important.

NEWSOM APPROVAL RATING, POLL NUMBERS HOLD STEADY

Gov. Gavin Newsom got some good news: 55% of likely voters approve of the job he’s doing. That’s a slight increase from May, when it was 52%. Newsom has hovered around 50% since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Fewer voters approve of the Legislature; just 48% of likely voters believe state lawmakers are doing a good job.

The survey also shows that race for governor is looking like a rout. Newsom has the support of about 58% of likely voters, while just 31% support his Republican opponent, Sen. Brian Dahle.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Dime con quién caminas y te diré quién eres. You can be for Prop 30 & not stand shoulder to shoulder with the union-buster Lyft CEO. You can be opposed to Prop 30 & not stand next to union-buster David Crane. Choose your visuals wisely.”

- California Labor Federation Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• Amazon has become the world’s largest retailer by engaging in anti-competitive practices, according to a new lawsuit filed by the California Attorney General’s Office, via Andrew Sheeler.

• Inflation is not going to ease much anytime soon. Food prices will stay up, at least for now. So will rent and mortgages, via David Lightman and Brianna Taylor.

• California union members could receive tax credits to reimburse a portion of their dues payments under a bill awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, via Wes Venteicher.

This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 4:55 AM.