A series of surveys under the UCI School of Social Ecology’s annual OC Poll show an increase in favorability for California Governor Gavin Newsom and a decrease for President Donald Trump. The poll, published July 2, surveyed more than 4,600 voters from across California.
Along with assessing approval ratings of Newsom and Trump, the poll also asked voters about their funding priorities, if they believed California is on the “wrong track” and who they would vote for in the 2026 California governor election. The poll — conducted by the School of Social Ecology Dean Jon Gould from May through June — showed 41% of respondents would vote for former vice president Kamala Harris over an unnamed Republican if she ran for governor.
“Overall, the results found a disenchanted electorate, one worried about the direction of the state, concerned about several key policy issues, disapproving of national leaders and mixed within the state, and except for one potential candidate, unaware of most of the declared candidates for Governor,” according to the OC Poll results.
The first round of surveys conducted between late May and early June showed a disapproval rating of 59% for Newsom’s performance, similar to that of Trump’s, which was 63% overall. In the last round, which took place at the end of June, Trump’s disapproval ratings stayed the same while 56% regarded Newsom favorably and 36% unfavorably.
Since taking office in January of 2025, the Trump administration has created an upswing in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and deportations, as part of an ongoing effort targeting undocumented immigrants.
While residents protested on the streets of downtown Los Angeles amidst the deployment of roughly 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines, Newsom has publicly condemned the Trump administration. He called the troops’ presence a “power grab showing ‘democracy is under assault,’” according to the Associated Press.
Since the deployment of troops, the public standoff intensified throughout June via interviews, social media confrontations, a letter to the federal government, and a phone call between Trump and Newsom.
On June 9, Newsom sued Trump and the Department of Defense for his “illegal takeover” of the California National Guard unit during the protests, according to the governor’s webpage. While Trump deployed the National Guard under Title 10 of the United States Code, which places the troops under federal authority, Newsom objected, calling the action “An unmistakable step towards authoritarianism” in his lawsuit announcement.
“So, my suspicion is that the numbers that we saw at the end of May, beginning of June, would have been the same numbers we would have seen much earlier in the year,” Gould told New University. “And thus the numbers we saw at the end of June were a reflection of what had happened in the standoff in Los Angeles.”
The School of Social Ecology’s OC Poll began in the early 1980s as an annual survey assessing “social, economic, and political issues of Orange County” over time, according to the poll’s website. While usually limited to a pool of Orange County residents, the newest OC Poll surveyed voters from across California.
“I don’t know that we’re going to be doing that much, but it was a unique opportunity to do it,” Gould said on polling a broader area. “And these were good questions to be looking at, and from the results that we found, really interesting and interesting time and interesting findings.”
UCI Social Ecology Undergraduate Affairs was unavailable for comment at this moment.
In recent years, the OC Poll has tracked the 2024 presidential election and satisfaction rates of living in Orange County.
Emma Richman is a Features Staff Writer for the summer 2025 quarter. She can be reached at richmane@uci.edu.
Edited by Alyssa Villagonzalo and Joshua Gonzales