San Jose Mercury News

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's once enviable approval ratings have plunged to new depths after last week's decision to call a November special election that few Californians want.

Just as he needs to rally public support for a trio of ballot measures, Schwarzenegger the salesman is turning off droves of Democrats and political independents, according to a non-partisan Field Poll that started about an hour after the governor went on statewide television last week to announce the Nov. 8 election. Even some fellow Republicans are turning their back on the governor, according to the poll released today, although he's still a popular GOP figure.

Thirty-seven percent of voters -- and 31 percent of California adults -- now say they approve of the governor's job performance, the survey found. That's down about 20 percentage points from his ratings in February. A month earlier, the governor kicked off his controversial year for reform.

Since then, opposition to many of the governor's proposals has grown and his foes have joined forces. It practically takes TiVo to avoid the barrage of pro- and mostly anti-Schwarzenegger television ads.

The last time a California governor's popularity fell so precipitously was during the 2001 energy crisis, when Gray Davis' ratings dropped 21 points between January and May. Schwarzenegger's numbers have lodged at about the same level Davis enjoyed a year before he was recalled.

That leaves Schwarzenegger weakened as he decides whether to take his slate of initiatives all the way to November or focus on compromising with lawmakers on a bipartisan budget and reform agenda. Schwarzenegger's initiatives aim to whittle down state spending and give governors more budgeting control, redraw legislative boundaries and extend the time it takes teachers to get permanent employment status.

Mark DiCamillo, who directs the non-partisan Field Poll, said Schwarzenegger's wounds appear ``self-inflicted'' as he sheds his bipartisan image. And it will be very hard for him to regain ground, especially among Democrats and independents.

Schwarzenegger ``seems to be hemorrhaging. And he doesn't seem to be one to easily change direction, from what we've seen in the last six months. He's headstrong and seems to think he's on the right path, but the poll numbers suggest otherwise,'' DiCamillo said. ``We'll wait and see if he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.''

What the poll did not address is the level of voter support for each of the governor's initiatives. Surveys on the particular initiatives will be released Wednesday and Thursday.

Republicans did their best to cast the results in more flattering light: Polls are a snapshot of public opinion, GOP strategists said. All politicians experience highs and lows. Private surveys show the governor in much better shape. The governor has run only a month's worth of ads compared with several months of negative ones.

Plus, it's hard to predict who will actually turn out for the November vote. Special elections tend to draw a smaller, more conservative electorate than general elections. An initiative requiring parents to be notified before teens get abortions could draw more conservatives. Then again, a measure that would undercut the political strength of unions could be a counterbalance.

In a blustery statement, Schwarzenegger's chief political consultant dubbed the poll results ``BALDERDASH!''

A 2004 Field Poll also showed Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante leading the recall campaign, Schwarzenegger consultant Mike Murphy said. Murphy's internal polls show the governor's ratings above 50 percent.

``The real campaign for these reforms has not even begun, and our opponents are already declaring victory,'' he said. ``They can declare victory all summer long, for all I care. We are squarely focused on November, and come this fall, after the voters learn about the governor's reform agenda and we have made our case, I am confident we will win.''

According to the poll, Schwarzenegger remains a GOP favorite -- with 66 percent support, the survey found. But that's down from 84 percent in February. And the Democrats and independents that Schwarzenegger once wooed with his fiscally conservative, socially moderate agenda? Seventy-six percent of Democrats and 54 percent of independents are not happy.

Schwarzenegger has fallen victim to his own hubris and early success outflanking legislators and charming the public, said Democratic consultant Garry South, the former chief strategist for Davis. But Californians have soured on him.

``He's acting like he's the governor of Texas instead of California,'' said South. ``This is still a very, very blue state. And he's going forward to the voters with an agenda that is a right-wing agenda.''

The public isn't enamored of the Legislature either. About one in four people approve of its performance, down from about one in three in February.

As legislators and the governor decide whether to come together to craft compromise measures for November or fight it out through fall, voters say they increasingly trust legislative leaders over the governor on important state issues -- by 44 to 33 percent.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, said he hoped the numbers will encourage what he calls ``a global settlement'' on a number of issues -- from budget controls to term limits and cutting pension costs.

``What this means for all of us is that we're bringing each other down,'' Núñez said. ``If we go to the special election in a divisive fight, we're going to throw each other off a cliff. The numbers substantiate that.''