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Davis' support plunges A Field Poll released Thursday showed that support for recalling the Democratic governor is growing -- up seven points from just a month ago -- and more than four in 10 voters think he should resign. Davis is so unpopular and beleaguered, the poll found, that almost seven of 10 likely voters believe Davis will be recalled. If they're right, Davis would be only the second governor in the nation's history to meet such a fate. "We've never had a state or a national officeholder rated so low," said pollster Mervin Field, who's been in the business 56 years. "It's really phenomenal the way the public is so sour on Davis in every respect. People say it's not all his fault, and it's probably not all his fault personally. But all the elements are conspiring against Davis." Only 22 percent of registered voters in the survey taken between Sunday and Wednesday approve of the job Davis is doing as governor, compared to Nixon's 24 percent approval when he resigned as president in August 1974. Former Gov. Pete Wilson, who's now co-chairman of Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign to replace Davis, was rated excellent or good by only 15 percent in May 1993, but pollsters later simplified their rating system, so Davis' current rating is actually lower. Another 42 percent of likely voters in this latest Field Poll -- including nearly a quarter of Democrats -- said Davis should resign. Twenty-seven percent of Democrats said he should be recalled. The numbers come as Davis' biggest supporters in organized labor are evaluating his chances and deciding whether to focus their efforts on a replacement candidate. The Field Poll was immediately denounced by the Davis campaign, even though the numbers were close to those in last weekend's CNN/Time magazine survey that had Davis losing the recall 54 percent to 35 percent. "There are going to be a million different polls with a million different results over the next several weeks," said Peter Ragone, a spokesman for Davis' anti-recall effort. "Folks should just keep in mind polls have been wrong about Gray Davis throughout his career and they're wrong now. The truth is, it's virtually impossible to poll this race. It's so fluid, there are (135) candidates, it's a non-traditional ballot. Polls are very suspect." Davis has insisted he will not resign. The Field Poll, which surveyed 629 registered voters, dealt only with Davis and the recall. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points. When Field examined the recall last month, the results showed Davis with a fighting chance. But the governor has slipped dramatically in just four weeks. At that time, voters were supporting the recall by a margin of 51 percent to 43 percent. Now the margin is 58 percent to 37 percent, with just 5 percent undecided. "There isn't any formula that looks promising," Field said of Davis' chances. "And this is not sudden. This is something that's been growing. It could even be classified as a tidal wave." Davis is in deep trouble, the poll shows, despite the fact that 47 percent of those surveyed think the recall is bad for California. "It's a case where his supporters who may have had, let's say, mixed feelings, may have even more mixed feelings now about continuing to support him," Field said. The numbers are even more damaging to Davis, Field said, because of the peculiar nature of the recall election.
Voters will first be asked whether they want Davis recalled. Part two
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