On Friday (August 19), the University of California at Berkeley released a poll that found California voters prefer California Governor Gavin Newsom to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat’s 2024 Presidential candidate.
The poll conducted by the university’s Institute of Government Studies showed that 25 percent of California’s voters would like Newsom to be the party’s Presidential candidate should Biden choose not to run. Harris and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) only received 15 percent.
61 Percent of voters also expressed their opposition to Biden seeking reelection in 2024; that figure increased to 71 percent for former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s approval and disapproval rating are split among California voters, with 48 percent of voters saying they approve of Biden and 48 percent of voters disapproving of the President.
The poll funded by the LA Times has a margin of error of ± two percentage points and was conducted on 9,254 participants between August 9 – 15.
Among voters who said they oppose Biden running for a second term, 41 percent indicated they “strongly opposed” the President seeking reelection.
Republican voters were more inclined to oppose Biden seeking a second term, with 87 percent expressing their opposition, whereas 46 percent of Democrats opposed Biden seeking reelection.
When voters had to choose a Democratic replacement candidate as a first choice Newsom and Sanders tied at 13 percent, and Harris only received 10 percent.
Other Democratic candidates failed to break 10 percent support. Other names mentioned included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who received 7 percent each. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) received 6 percent support, and former candidate Hillary Clinton only received 4 percent.
