Support for Prop 30 drops after California Gov. Gavin Newsom airs an ad opposing it

Support for Proposition 30, a ballot measure to impose a tax on the wealthy to pay for greenhouse gas reduction efforts, has dipped since California Gov. Gavin Newsom cut an ad opposing it.

According to the latest Berkeley IGS poll, 49% of likely voters support Proposition 30, while 37% are opposed and 14% are undecided.

That’s down from 55% of likely voters supporting it in a Public Policy Institute of California poll that was published in mid-September.

The Berkeley poll was conducted between Sept. 22 and Sept. 27, after Newsom released an ad calling Proposition 30 a taxpayer-funded giveaway to Lyft.

Newsom, a Democrat, broke with his party in opposing the ballot measure, in a rare instance of alignment with the California Republican Party.

The Berkeley poll also looked at likely voter support for the two gambling-related ballot measures, Proposition 26 and Proposition 27, and the flavored tobacco ban, Proposition 31.

Regarding the latter, Californians largely are supportive of the flavored tobacco ban, with 57% of likely voters saying they’ll vote yes and 31% saying that they will vote no.

Neither of the gambling-related ballot measures fared well in the Berkeley survey, with the tribe-funded Proposition 26 registering just 31% support and 42% opposition, and the online sports betting company-funded Proposition 27 sitting at 27% support and 53% opposition.

“These results suggest that the sports wagering initiatives are foundering in the face of the opposition advertising campaigns. The lack of support among key demographic groups makes passage of each an uphill climb, at best,” said IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler in a statement.

The new Berkeley poll also shows that Newsom is continuing to coast to re-election this November, with 53% of likely voters supporting him, compared to 32% supporting his Republican opponent, state Sen. Brian Dahle.

The poll shows that Dahle remains largely unknown to California voters, with 52% of them saying they are unfamiliar with the candidate. When it comes to Democrats and No Party Preference voters, that number rises to 62%.

Newsom, on the other hand, has near-universal name recognition in the state, with 95% of those surveyed able to offer an opinion on the Democratic governor, according to the survey.

Surveyors spoke with 8,725 registered California voters, including 6,939 likely voters, to conduct the poll. Funding for the poll was provided in part by the Los Angeles Times.