Majority Support Increasing Firefighting Resources
70% Think Climate Change Contributed to Wildfires
A new Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill survey of California voters finds a majority of Primary voters (57%) would support former Vice President Kamala Harris if she ran for Governor. Former Rep. Katie Porter follows, at 9%, 4% support former Speaker of the California State Assembly Antonio Villaraigosa and Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalaki respectively; 17% are undecided. Without Harris on the ballot, a plurality (45%) are undecided, while 21% support Porter, 9% Villaraigosa, and 5% Kounalakis.
“Support for Harris is strongest among women (60%), Hispanics (61%), and Black voters (64%),” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “If Vice President Harris enters the primary, she would start as the clear favorite. Without Harris in the race, the primary is wide open. Former Rep. Porter leads the pack, performing well among voters with college degrees (26%) or postgraduate degrees (25%).”
Governor Gavin Newsom has a 42% job approval among California voters, while 40% disapprove of the job he is doing in office. President Donald Trump holds a 37% job approval rating and 53% disapproval.
Sixty-two percent think the California government should spend more on firefighter staffing and equipment, knowing increased funding may require a tax increase, while 35% think they should spend the same, and 3% think the state should spend less.
“Majorities of Democrats (68%), Republicans (61%), and independents (54%) support increased state spending on firefighter staffing and equipment, reflecting heightened concern amid wildfire threats,” Kimball said.
A majority of California voters (70%) think climate change contributed to California’s recent wildfires, while 30% think it does not.
“Voters under 40 (75%) and over 70 (73%) are most confident climate change contributed to recent wildfires, though a majority of all age groups agree,” Kimball noted.
Regarding Trump’s order to open dams in Central California, 52% think it was a bad thing for the state, while 48% think it was a good thing.
“There is a partisan divide on Trump’s actions in California: 72% of Democrats think the opening of Central California dams was a bad thing for the state, while 83% of Republicans think it was a good thing,” Kimball said. “Independents best represent the divide: 51% think it was a good thing and 49% a bad thing.”
When asked about the ability of Trump and Newsom to work together, a plurality of voters (43%) think President Trump will not do enough to work with Governor Newsom on fire-related issues, while 26% think Newsom won’t do enough to work with Trump. Seventeen percent think neither will do enough to work together, and 14% think Trump and Newsom will equally work together.
Regarding public safety power shutoffs, half of voters (50%) are confident they can effectively prevent wildfires, while 37% are not confident; 13% are unsure.
A majority of voters (56%) think mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in California are a bad thing for California, while 44% think they are a good thing for the state.
Fifty-four percent think California’s high-speed rail project is a good use of state funds, while 46% think it is a bad use of funds.
Methodology
The Emerson College Polling California survey was conducted February 10-11, 2025. The sample of California registered voters, n=1,000, has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3 percentage points. The sample of Primary voters includes n=469, with a credibility interval of +/-4.5%. The data sets were weighted by gender, education, race, age, party registration, and region.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting cell phones via MMS-to-web text and landlines via IVR (phone list provided by Aristotle), and an online panel of voters provided by Rep Data. Panel responses were matched to the Aristotle voter file using respondents’ full name and ZIP code. The survey was offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with the exact wording and ordering, along with full results, demographics, and cross tabulations can be found under Full Results. This survey was funded by Emerson College/Nexstar Media.
