Feinstein’s approval rating dips
A majority of likely California voters supports protecting immigrants who arrived in the country as children from deportation, and about half don’t think Sen. Dianne Feinstein should run for re-election next year, according to a Public Policy Institute of California survey released Wednesday.
The poll also found that only about 27 percent of Californians approve of the job President Trump is doing. That rating is strongly partisan, with 70 percent of Republicans approving of Trump and 91 percent of Democrats disapproving.
Three-quarters of California adults (78 percent) said they support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program that allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary protections from deportation and to receive work permits. The Trump adminstration announced the program would phase out over the next 2½ years.
Support for the program in California is seen across party lines, as 90 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of independents and 61 percent of Republicans said they support DACA.
Meanwhile, the poll found that while 54 percent of likely voters approve of Feinstein’s job performance, a majority of independents (55 percent) and Republicans (69 percent) don’t think she should seek re-election. The survey found that 57 percent of Feinstein’s fellow Democrats back another term for the former San Francisco mayor, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992.
The survey found that among those who approved of Feinstein, 73 percent supported her running for another term while 22 percent do not.
Though Feinstein has not formally announced that she is running, she has been raising money and has $3.5 million in cash on hand, according to federal campaign finance records. More than a dozen possible candidates have expressed an interest, but none have the name recognition or are well financed at this point.
On Wednesday, former Sen. Barbara Boxer said she expects Feinstein to run since she has given no indication that she won’t.
“I think she’s well positioned just given her record, her knowledge and her seniority,” Boxer said during a Sacramento Press Club speech.
Feinstein’s approval rating is highest among African Americans (72 percent approve) and lowest among Latinos (44 percent) and whites (47 percent).
The senator’s slipping approval rating is rooted in how some progressives feel that she has not been aggressive enough in opposing the Trump administration. During an appearance in San Francisco last month at a Commonwealth Club event, Feinstein drew scattered boos when she said that she hoped Trump “has the ability to learn and to change. And if he does, he can be a good president. And that’s my hope.”
She also has drawn the ire of progressives for not endorsing single-payer health care. Feinstein said she favored a public option for health care, that is not in line with the position of the executive board of the California Democratic Party, which has endorsed single-payer health care.
Other findings in the survey of 1,734 California residents:
44 percent of all adults said the high cost of housing is forcing them to move. However, they are divided on SB 2, a bill that the Legislature passed and Gov. Jerry Brown is considering. Less than half of all adults (46 percent) and likely voters (44 percent) favor it. A more popular idea: building more housing. Most respondents (64 percent of adults, 59 percent of likely voters) favor more housing in their cities or communities. A majority of Californians have a favorable view of the current health care law and want Republicans and Democrats to work together to make the Affordable Care Act better.
Mark Baldassare, PPIC president and CEO, summed up the findings: “While Republicans in Congress debate proposals to repeal and replace Obamacare, the majority of Californians have a favorable view of the current health care law and want Republicans and Democrats to work together to make improvements. Most believe it is government’s role to provide health care coverage for all, but there is no consensus about switching to a singlepayer system.”
The survey had a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
Some progressives feel that (Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein) has not been aggressive enough in opposing the Trump administration.