The recall effort will need more than bears and generic Republican gripes to prevail, because right now that’s not working.
Support for recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom remains stuck around 40%, according to newly released survey results from the Public Policy Institute of California. As the state reopens and Newsom promises politically popular, if questionable, spending proposals, this consistent ceiling doesn’t bode well for the recall campaign. Two weeks ago, the Institute of Governmental Studies noted that support for the recall stood at 36% in surveys it conducted in late January and late April. The PPIC’s more recent survey came after the governor’s announcement of a $100 billion plan marketed as “California Roars Back.” As gimmicky, over-the-top and fiscally imprudent as the spending plan is, the PPIC survey confirms key elements of Newsom’s plan are politically popular. In politics, the soundness of a plan matters far less than its popularity. According to the PPIC survey,70% of Californians and 61% of likely voters support Newsom’s proposal to send stimulus checks to households with incomes under $75,000.
