Calif. Democrats Ditching Obama? Less Than Half Back Re-Election Bid
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Are voters in one of the staunchest Democratic states in the nation losing hope in President Barack Obama?
That's the gist of a new Field Poll that shows Obama's job approval rating in the state has dipped below 50 percent for the first time since he took office in January 2009.
Californians are now almost evenly divided on whether to reelect the same president they elected by a 24-point margin over John McCain in 2008, with just 49 percent of registered voters inclined to re-elect Obama.
Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo told KNX 1070 the results show Obama supporters are defecting from across the political spectrum.
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"What's interesting is that most of the slippage over the past three months has come from members of his own party as well as nonpartisans," said DiCamillo. "It's not just the Republicans."
DiCamillo pointed to the shift among independent voters as perhaps posing the greatest challenge to Obama's reelection hopes.
"In 2008 they swung to the Democrats, electing Obama, 2010 they swung back to the Republican side, bringing in the House Republicans, so we'll have to see what happens for 2012, but they're the key group," he said.
