California voters are divided over whether to recall Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a new poll.
A new poll released Monday by Emerson College For Nexstar Media found 38% of voters in California want Newsom to be recalled, while 42% want him to stay in office. Over 13% said they were undecided, and 6% reported they would not vote either way in a potential recall.
When it came to Newsom’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, 45% percent approve of Newsom’s handling of the pandemic, while 44% disapprove. The virus has resulted in 56,000 deaths in The Golden State, according to the New York Times.
The poll also broke down the recall support by party registration. Approximately 86% of Republicans said they would vote to recall the governor, but 66% of Democrats said they would support Newsom. Independents favored ousting Newsom by 39% to 35%.
“The Republicans are in favor of the recall regardless of which candidate they put up and the Democrats are still with Newsom, but there is a weaker support for the governor among younger Democrats and if a fresh new face emerges on the left that could be a game-changer in Newsom’s Democrat support and a boost in the recall effort,” said Spencer Kimball, the Director of Emerson Polling.
Voters were also asked, “regardless of the recall effort, would you vote to re-elect Governor Newsom in 2022, or do you think it is time for someone new?”
41.7% said they would re-elect Newsom in 2022, but 58.3% of voters believe it was “time for someone new.”
Well this is a bit of a flashing warning sign…https://t.co/8TDeOWqkJS pic.twitter.com/9ChJWMAxde
— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) March 15, 2021
Newsom launched his own campaign to stop the recall effort, which has reportedly garnered 2 million signatures, more than enough to trigger a special election. (RELATED: Gov. Newsom Criticizes Recall Election Effort, Promotes Counter-Campaign)
The governor’s “Stop the Republican Recall” campaign claims the recall movement is “powered by a partisan, Republican coalition of national Republicans, anti-vaxxers, QAnon conspiracy theorists, anti-immigrant activists and Trump supporters.”
The counter-campaign is backed by several Democrats, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democratic California Sen. Alex Padilla, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter, Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna and Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Emerson’s poll was conducted with 1,045 registered voters between March 12-14. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.