UCI

Approval Ratings of the President

While Orange County residents are not particularly positive about their Democratic governor, they have shown increasing support for the Republican president. Prior to September 11th, 57 percent of Orange County residents said that they approved of the way George W. Bush was handling his job as president. Over the past year, that support has grown; and today, 68 percent of Orange County residents, and the same proportion of registered voters, say that they approve of the way President Bush is handling his job.

By comparison, the October 2002 Statewide Survey showed that 60 percent of Californians approved and 36 percent disapproved of the president’s performance in office. A Gallup Poll conducted in November found that 68 percent of Americans approved and 27 percent disapproved of his performance in office, so these national ratings of the president are very similar to what we find in Orange County.

There is a partisan split in residents’ perceptions of President Bush – as dramatic as (but less harsh than) their assessments of Governor Davis. Fewer than half of Orange County Democrats (46%), sixty percent of independents, and nearly nine in ten Republicans (89%) approve of Bush’s job performance. The president’s support, unlike the governor’s lower approval ratings, is consistent across different racial/ethnic groups, with two-thirds of both Latinos (67%) and whites (70%) expressing support for how he is handling his job as president. Bush’s overall approval ratings are fairly consistent across age, income, and education levels.

Orange County residents are more guarded, however, in their assessment of Bush’s handling of economic issues. While more than half of all residents (57%) and registered voters (58%) say they support the way he has handled the economy, these ratings are lower than his overall support. Partisan divisions are again evident: One in three Democrats, about half of independents, and three in four Republicans say they approve of the president’s handling of economic issues. Conservatives are about twice as likely as liberals (76% to 37%) to approve of the president’s efforts in this area. Latinos and whites (58% to 59%) are equally supportive. Bush’s approval ratings on this issue are fairly constant across age, gender, income, and education.