Updated July 8, 2026

Gavin Newsom's approval rating

As of the most recent nonpartisan polling, 50% of California adults and 54% of likely voters approve of Gavin Newsom's job performance as governor (Public Policy Institute of California, fielded May 14-18, 2026). An Emerson College poll from December 2025 put his job approval at 47% approve and 39% disapprove among registered voters.

Newsom is Governor of California, so these are California statewide job-approval numbers, not a national rating. He is also a leading contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

California job approval over time

Newsom approval rating: PPIC trend

The Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan research organization, tracks the governor's job approval in its recurring statewide survey. Figures are shown for all adults and, separately, for likely voters.

Survey	Field dates	Adults approve	Likely voters approve
PPIC, May 2026 1,707 adults / 986 likely voters	May 14-18, 2026	50%	54%
PPIC, February 2026 1,657 adults / 1,049 likely voters	February 3-11, 2026	51%	52%
PPIC, December 2025 1,676 adults / 1,086 likely voters	November 13-19, 2025	54%	56%

Source: Public Policy Institute of California, Californians and Their Government surveys. Each number is copied verbatim from the linked PPIC release. Latest data: May 14-18, 2026.

A second pollster

Emerson College: approval and favorability

An Emerson College Polling survey conducted for Inside California Politics (December 1-2, 2025, 1,000 registered California voters, credibility interval +/- 3 points) found:

Job approval: 47% approve, 39% disapprove (a net +8, which Emerson called Newsom's best of 2025).
Favorability: 52% favorable, 38% unfavorable.

Source: Emerson College Polling / Inside California Politics, fielded December 1-2, 2025. Job approval and favorability measure different things and are not directly comparable to the PPIC job-approval figures above.

How to read this

What Newsom's approval rating measures

Because Gavin Newsom is the Governor of California, his "approval rating" is a California job-approval measure: it asks Californians whether they approve of how he is handling his job as governor. It is not a national number, and it is separate from how he polls in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary.

Job approval asks about performance in office. Favorability asks whether a voter views him positively or negatively. They often differ by several points.
Adults vs. likely voters: likely-voter samples skew toward more consistent voters, so the two lines can move differently.
Why it matters for 2028: a governor's home-state standing is one input observers weigh, but approval is a snapshot of job performance, not a prediction of a national race.

For where Newsom stands against other 2028 contenders, see our 2028 primary polls and prediction-market odds.

Quick answers

Gavin Newsom approval rating: FAQ

What is Gavin Newsom's approval rating right now?

In the most recent nonpartisan survey, 50% of California adults and 54% of likely voters approved of Gavin Newsom's job performance as governor (PPIC, fielded May 14-18, 2026). An earlier Emerson College poll from December 2025 put his job approval at 47% approve and 39% disapprove among registered voters. Because Newsom is Governor of California, these are California statewide job-approval figures, not a national rating.

Is Gavin Newsom's approval rating going up or down?

Among California adults, PPIC recorded 54% approval in its December 2025 survey, 51% in February 2026, and 50% in May 2026 - a modest decline. Among likely voters, the figure was 56%, then 52%, then 54% over the same period. Approval this far from any election tends to move within a narrow band.

What is the difference between the adults and likely voters figures?

Pollsters such as PPIC report results separately for all adults and for likely voters (the people judged most likely to actually cast a ballot). The two groups can differ by several points. This page shows both so you see the full picture rather than a single cherry-picked number.

Is this Gavin Newsom's national approval rating?

No. Newsom does not hold federal office, so there is no official national job-approval rating for him. The figures here measure how Californians rate his performance as their governor. National surveys usually measure his favorability or his standing in the 2028 Democratic primary instead.

How does Newsom's approval affect his 2028 chances?

Home-state job approval is one signal observers watch when weighing a governor's national prospects, but it is not a forecast. Newsom is widely treated as a leading 2028 Democratic contender in prediction markets and early primary polling. See our odds and polls pages for those measures.

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