Taxes, jobs, and inflation are the top concerns of California voters, according to an Emerson College Polling survey released September 22.
In separate questions, voters were asked what they believe to be the most important issue facing the United States and California. Taxes, jobs, and inflation were lumped together and categorized as “the economy.”
At the federal level, 31 percent said the economy, 28 percent said threats to democracy, 11 percent cited immigration, 8 percent said crime, 8 percent named healthcare, and 5 percent said housing affordability.
For California specifically, 30 percent said the economy, followed by housing affordability at 22 percent, threats to democracy at 13 percent, immigration at 11 percent, and crime at 9 percent.
Discussing the California responses, the pollster noted: “Since August, the economy held at 30 percent, while housing affordability increased three points, from 19 percent to 22 percent, and immigration decreased from 15 percent to 11 percent.”
The poll also found that 51 percent of the voters support Proposition 50, while 34 percent are opposed and 15 percent are undecided. The wording of the question used in the poll: “In November 2025, there will be an election for Proposition 50, which authorizes temporary changes to California’s congressional district maps in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting. If the election for Proposition 50 were held today, would you vote yes or no?”
Additionally, the poll asked about voters’ support for various gubernatorial candidates and found that “undecided” is the most popular option, by a wide margin. Undecided was at 37.7 percent, while former U.S. Representative Katie Porter was second with 15.8 percent, followed by Republican Steve Hilton at 9.9 percent, Republican Sheriff Chad Bianco at 7.9 percent, and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra at 4.8 percent. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was the choice of 3.8 percent of the respondents, and former State Controller Betty Yee was named by 3 percent.
The Emerson College Polling California survey was conducted September 15 and September 16. The poll “has a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error (MOE), of +/- 3 percentage points,” the pollster stated.