A new poll conducted by the University of Southern California and the Los Angles Times shows that President Obama’s approval rating is high generally and up on a wide array of issues — except for gas prices. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads in the Republican primary race in the state, set for June 5, but loses badly in a matchup against Obama, 57 percent to 36 percent.
Obama’s general approval in the state is up to 57 percent, while 38 percent disapprove, and more voters like his approach to the economy in the state, which contrasts with his much lower on that metric nationally. From USC:
When polled on specific issues, voters in the state favorably rated the president’s approach to many economic issues, including jobs (53-43 percent), the economy (51-47 percent) and taxes (50-45 percent).
A further breakdown shows that favorability ratings for the president’s performance on jobs was 58-39 percent for Latino voters, and 51-45 percent for White voters. When it comes to the economy, Latino voters approved 53-46 percent and White voters were split with 48 percent disapproving and 50 percent approving. On taxes Latino voters approve of the president’s performance 49-44 percent; White voters disapprove by a narrow margin with 47 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving.
“Barack Obama carried this state by a wide margin four years ago, and this poll suggests he’s in a strong position to carry California again this November,” said Dan Schnur, director of the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll and director of the Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. “Voters here are beginning to feel better about the state’s economic future and that optimism is working toward the president’s benefit.”
The USC numbers follow the TPM Poll Average of Obama’s approval in the state.
