65% of respondents to California polls say that California is headed in the wrong direction.
Posted by Ask Dr. Drew, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Ask Dr. DrewOct 21, 2026
The 65% figure does not match statewide California polls, which report wrong-direction shares of roughly 52% to 59% (PPIC, Washington Examiner, and a McLaughlin poll reported by the NY Post), with no statewide source reporting 65%. The only near-65% figure, 66.2%, is from a Post poll of Los Angeles city voters, a different population.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Yeah, so thank you for having me. It's an honor to be with you again. My wife wanted me to tell you that she says hi, so it's good to be here. No, look, California is in crisis. You know it, I know it, and 65% of respondents to polls, to California polls, say that California is headed in the wrong direction. So we all know that California is in crisis. There's a whole host of issues. A lot of people point to Newsom. …
Ask Dr. Drew · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Statewide PPIC results were 57% of adults and 52% of likely voters in May 2026, and 54% of adults and 52% of likely voters in a later PPIC survey, both below the claimed 65%.[1][2]
Contradicts. The Washington Examiner reports nearly 59% of Californians say wrong direction, and the McLaughlin/California Post poll finds 56.2% of voters, both below 65%.[3][4]
Supports. Multiple statewide polls find that most Californians say the state is headed in the wrong direction, so the direction of the claim is correct.[1][2][3][4][5]
Context. The 66.2% figure in the California Post poll applies to Los Angeles city voters, not California respondents statewide, so it does not support the claim as worded.[3]
Context. The City Journal/Manhattan Institute poll measured whether California is headed in a worse direction than other states (45%), a different question from the wrong-direction measure, so it does not support the 65% figure.[6]
Sources
6 sources: 6 not rated
- 1Opinion | Californians are unhappy but won't shake up status quocalmatters.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 2PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Governmentdata.ddhq.io · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3Bombshell poll finds California voters say state is heading ...yahoo.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports, context
- 4California voters still don't like how Democrats are running the statewashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 5California voters frustrated by length of November ballot ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6California’s Missing Reform Coalitioncity-journal.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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