 |
 -0 |
 |
|
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
pollsters find Recall could spell trouble for Davis April 15, 2003 Gov. Gray Davis' popularity has plummeted to a record low among California voters, showing that he would be in serious trouble if the effort to recall him gets on the ballot, according to a new Field Poll. More than two-thirds of California voters now have an unfavorable opinion of Davis, with only 27 percent pleased with him. Even 54 percent of the state's Democrats now dislike Davis. If backers of the effort to recall him can collect the almost 900,000 valid signatures needed to force a vote, the poll shows the governor has serious problems. Throughout the state, 46 percent of those surveyed would vote to dump Davis, with 43 percent willing to keep him in office. "If the recall gets on the ballot, all bets are off," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. "Voters then don't have to sign their name (to a recall petition). They just can voice their disapproval on the ballot." Davis' job performance rating also took a beating in the new poll. Sixty- five percent of those surveyed are unhappy with the job the governor is doing, up from 49 percent in September. Only 24 percent of all California voters, and 36 percent of the Democrats, believe Davis is doing a good job. "The numbers are as bad as we've seen since we've been polling," DiCamillo said.
POWER, ENERGY, BUDGET WOES The governor's ratings have been skidding since August 1998, when Davis' performance had the backing of 65 percent of California voters. Since then, a weakening economy, a high-profile power crisis and the state's budget woes have taken a toll. "The governor's ratings have moved up and down with the economy," said Roger Salazar, a spokesman for Davis. "When things are going great, governors get the credit, even when they don't deserve it. When things are going bad, governors get the blame, even when they don't deserve it." Davis' problems are magnified by the recall campaign. The governor's opponents have until early September to collect the signatures needed to put the recall vote on the ballot. Even voters who dislike Davis are unwilling to put California through a nasty and divisive recall campaign, the new poll shows. Statewide, 62 percent of the voters said they would not sign a recall petition, and 59 percent are convinced a recall election would be bad for the state. "Most voters don't think it's good policy to have a recall," DiCamillo said. But the 33 percent willing to sign a recall petition represents about 5 million registered voters, and 20 percent of that number would be enough to force a recall vote. Sal Russo, a Republican consultant involved in the recall effort, is confident Davis' opponents will collect the needed signatures. "Recall isn't like impeachment, which needs wrongdoing or a criminal act," he said. "It's a political process to get someone out of office who voters don't like." Democrats continue to paint the recall as a partisan attack on the governor by Republicans who couldn't beat him in November. "When a recall deals with issues not related to malfeasance in office, voters see through it," said Art Torres, head of the state Democratic Party. A recall would be a two-part election, with voters first deciding whether to keep Davis in office and then picking a replacement, who would take office only if the recall was successful.
BUSTAMANTE TOP REPLACEMENT
The poll put Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante on top of that replacement election with 22 percent of the vote. Republican actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a rumored candidate for governor in 2006, was second with 17 percent.
|
|
|
