California Gov. Gavin Newsom has enjoyed a 10 percent bump in popularity over the last six months, according to a new poll.
A survey by the Public Policy Institute of California has found that both Newsom personally and the state’s Democratic-majority legislature have surged in popularity in the second half of the year, a period in which the governor has relentlessly trolled President Donald Trump on social media and passed a new House map to counteract Republican gerrymandering in Texas.
Their leadership is clearly appreciated, with Newsom’s favorability rating rising from 46 percent in June to 56 percent in November, while the legislature’s popularity is up 8 points to 53 percent over the same period.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has enjoyed a 10 percent surge in favorability in the second half of 2025, according to a new poll (AFP/Getty)
The majority of respondents said they were broadly positive about the direction they believe their state is headed, with 51 percent expressing contentment with California’s progress.
That comes despite it being a challenging year for the Golden State, which began with devastating wildfires and saw it become the frontline for the resistance against ICE’s crackdown on undocumented migrants, leading to large-scale demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles in June and Trump sending in the National Guard against the governor and city mayor’s wishes.
There was also bad news for the president in the PPIC survey, with just 25 percent of Californians approving of his job performance and 74 percent disapproving, perhaps unsurprising in a deep blue state where the cost of living was identified as a top concern.
Trump has repeatedly sought to downplay anxieties about inflation, insisting the economy is in rude health and giving himself an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade in a Politico interview Tuesday.
The Independent has contacted Newsom’s office and the White House for comment.
“Folks are in a post-Proposition 50 state of mind,” said Mark Baldassare, the PPIC’s polling director, alluding to the redistributing ballot initiative passed after November 4’s special election.
LAPD officers arrest an anti-ICE protester during this summer’s heated demonstrations against Donald Trump’s federal crackdown on undocumented migrants in downtown Los Angeles (AFP/Getty)
“The public feels that the governor and legislature’s interests are aligned more with theirs than the president, and Congress and the Supreme Court, for that matter.”
All of which bodes well for Newsom, who is term-limited from serving again but is widely tipped to launch a run for the White House in 2028.
Who he might be up against is not yet known, but the field is wide open. Everyone from last year’s defeated nominee Kamala Harris to fellow governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear, Gretchen Whitmer, JB Pritzker, and Wes Moore, plus New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, has all been mentioned as possible challengers.
Former congresswoman Katie Porter is meanwhile currently leading the race to replace Newsom in the governor’s mansion, ahead of former state attorney general Xavier Becerra and conservative political consultant and media personality Steve Hilton.
Newsom has led the way for his bruised party this year as it seeks to recover from its disastrous performance in the 2024 presidential election, standing up to Trump and using satire as a weapon against him.
The governor has given over his press office account on X, formerly known as Twitter, to serve as an outlet for ruthless parodies of the president’s eccentric posting style, capturing his all-caps rants and penchant for inflammatory memes to a tee.
Recent examples include mocking Trump over his FIFA Peace Prize medal and over his bizarre claim on Monday that modern agricultural machinery is so complex “you need about a 185 IQ to turn on a lawnmower.”
