Over half of Californians both approve of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) performance in office and worry the state is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new study from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released on Monday.

Newsom’s job performance was backed by 54 percent of adults and 56 percent of likely voters, PPIC stated. The state legislature received similar support with 51 percent of adults and 53 percent of likely voters in approval.

The governor has seen a growth in contributions from Hollywood executives, Silicon Valley executives, developers around the state and others encouraging him to run as the Democratic nominee for president in 2028. Newsom has garnered the support of 100,000 contributors who have never donated to his previous gubernatorial campaigns.

Part of this has been fueled by Newsom’s online presence criticizing and mocking President Trump, whose performance is approved of by 25 percent of Golden State adults and 29 percent of voters.

But voters’ views toward state officials are “rosier” compared to state issues, PPIC Statewide Survey director Mark Baldassare said in a statement. Fifty-one percent said that the Golden State is heading in the wrong direction, while 48 percent said California is going in the right direction.

Housing affordability has 65 percent of Californians worried, with 45 percent telling PPIC that housing costs have put a financial strain on them and their families. Most adults, at 76 percent, said they are less comfortable now with making big purchases like for a house or car compared to six months ago.

“Californians are deeply pessimistic about the economy and their own pocketbooks as we head into a pivotal election year,” Baldassare said in the statement. “Affordability is a key issue. Overwhelming majorities of likely voters in competitive congressional districts expect economic bad times ahead (73%), are concerned about the price of food and consumer goods (96%), and are less comfortable making household purchases than they were six months ago (67%).”

With their eyes toward the nation as a whole, 71 percent of Californians said democracy in the U.S. is worse off than it was five years ago, PPIC stated. Sixty percent said they believe political violence will increase in the next few years.

“Californians see volatile and potentially violent times ahead for our democracy,” Baldassare said. “Given these fears, it’s not surprising that they choose political extremism or threats to democracy as the most important problem facing the nation today.”

Most adults also disapprove of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) job execution, at 72 percent, while 68 percent of adults disapprove of the National Guard being deployed in any of the state’s cities. PPIC found that 70 percent of Angelenos do not approve of the National Guard deployment.

Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles after a wave of protests erupted in late May and June over ICE arrests south of the city. On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Trump to cease the deployment and return control to Newsom, with 100 troops still in the city.

The PPIC survey was conducted Nov. 13-19 and included 1,676 respondents. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points.

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