Poll: Gov. Recall Unlikely

California voters aren’t particularly pleased with the performance of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but they aren’t inclined to recall him, according to a Field Poll survey released Tuesday.

Of 1,008 voters surveyed, 52% disapproved of his job performance and 38% approved. And 70% said the state is “seriously off on the wrong track.”

But by a 63% to 29% margin, those surveyed said they would vote “no” if the governor faced a recall election.

The poll was conducted after the state’s prison guard union last week announced that it planned to begin gathering signatures for a recall — but before the governor announced that he planned to veto the budget that emerged from the Legislature this week.

In April 2003, by contrast, during the early stage of the campaign that led to the recall that ousted former Gov. Gray Davis, 46% of California voters surveyed in a Field Poll supported the recall of Davis.

By a margin of 77% to 17%, voters surveyed said they believe recalling Schwarzenegger would be a bad thing for California, and just 17% said they would sign a petition to remove him from office if asked.

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