Poll: How California voters view Trump and Newsom's performance

A new poll released Tuesday by NBCUniversal Local and Telemundo Station Group offers a snapshot of how likely California voters feel about key issues heading into the 2026 midterm elections. The study includes a statewide survey of all likely voters and a separate poll focused on likely Latino voters.

Most respondents in reliably blue California overwhelmingly said they disapproved of President Donald Trump's job performance, with 64% of all likely voters and 68% of likely Latino voters disapproving. Thirty-one percent of respondents in both the statewide survey and among likely Latino voters said they approved, while 1% of Latinos and 5% of all respondents said they weren't sure.

The poll found California voters were evenly split on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s job performance, with 45% saying they approved and 46% disapproving. Another 9% said they weren't sure. Among Latino voters, the poll found a wider gap in how they view Newson's job performance, with 54% approving and 38% disapproving, while 9% said they were not sure.

But when asked how they felt about a possible Newsom presidential bid in 2028, a majority of Democrats (66%) said they'd support him as the party's nominee. Another 15% said they would not, and 19% were not sure. Among Latino Democrats, support for Newsom as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee was even higher, with 73% saying they'd vote for him, while 14% said they would not and 13% said they were undecided.

As for Newsom's replacement, voters appeared to be lukewarm on their choices for the governor's race. Asked if they were satisfied with having Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton as their gubernatorial candidates, 49% said they were satisfied, 25% said they were dissatisfied, and another 26% said they were undecided. Among Latino voters, 55% said they were satisfied, while 23% said they were dissatisfied and 22% said they weren't sure.

As Californians continue to grapple with rising prices and stagnant wages amid the war with Iran, 25% of voters said cost of living and inflation was the top issue when deciding their vote, followed by jobs and the economy at 23%. Another 15% said immigration and enforcement was the most important, while 11% said healthcare, and 10% said foreign policy and the Iran War. The poll showed similar results among Latino voters, with cost of living and inflation the top concern (29%), followed by the economy and jobs (22%), and immigration and enforcement (19%).

The poll also found that support for Proposition 40 — a proposal to impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of Californians with net worths exceeding $1.1 billion — is still short of the majority needed to pass. Forty-eight percent of likely California voters said they vote "yes" on the measure, while "38" said they would vote "no." Another 14% said they were undecided. Among Latino voters, the 50% said they would vote "yes," 40% said they would vote "no," and 10% said they were undecided.

Asked whether they support California being a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants, 53% of all voters said they support the measure, 38% said they oppose it, and 9% said they were undecided. Among Latino voters, 68% said they support California being a sanctuary state for undocumented immigrants, compared with 27% who said they oppose it and 5% who said they are undecided

The Telemundo Station Group poll of Latino voters in California was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. A total of 400 registered Latino voters in California were interviewed by live telephone statewide from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24, 2026. All said they were likely to vote in the November 2026 general election. The margin of error is no more than ±5 percentage points.

The NBCUniversal Local and Telemundo Station Group poll of California voters was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, Inc. A total of 625 registered voters in California were interviewed by live telephone statewide from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24, 2026. All said they were likely to vote in the November 2026 general election. The margin of error is no more than ±4 percentage points.

See the results of the poll of California voters here and the poll of Latino voters here.

This story was originally published in Spanish by Telemundo. It was translated to English using an AI language tool and was then reviewed by an NBC editor.