If Sen. Dianne Feinstein seeks re-election in 2018, she will confront an electorate that appears to be searching more broadly for change. | Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images Poll: Voters skeptical of Feinstein reelection bid

LOS ANGELES — Half of likely California voters say Sen. Dianne Feinstein should not run for re-election, according to a new poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Forty-six percent of California adults and 50 percent of likely voters say Feinstein should not seek a sixth term, according to the poll. Yet the survey does not test Feinstein against any other potential candidate, and a majority of Democrats — 57 percent — say Feinstein should run again. Though Feinstein’s public approval rating has ticked down slightly from January, it stands at a relatively favorable 48 percent among California adults and 54 percent among likely voters.


The poll comes as Feinstein sustains increased criticism from her party’s left flank, with the possibility of a Democratic challenger in next year’s election.

Feinstein, a centrist Democrat, has been criticized by progressive activists for her skeptical view of single-payer health care and support for some of President Donald Trump’s earliest nominees. She was booed after telling an audience last month that it could be possible for Donald Trump to become “a good president.”

No prominent Democrat has announced plans to challenge Feinstein. But state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and Joseph Sanberg, a wealthy Orange County progressive activist, are both potential candidates.

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Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, a prospective presidential contender, remains less well known to Californians than Feinstein, with about a quarter of voters saying they don’t know how to rate her performance. Forty-two percent of adults and 47 percent of likely voters approve of the job she is doing, according to the poll.

If Feinstein seeks re-election in 2018, she will confront an electorate that appears to be searching more broadly for change. The poll finds, for example, that while most Californians approve of the job Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is doing, nearly half of voters want their next governor to mostly change his policies.

“Californians give positive ratings to the state of the state and their state’s elected leaders today, yet the early signals point to ‘change’ as a major theme in 2018,” poll director Mark Baldassare said in a prepared statement. “Many likely voters say they are looking for a different type of leadership in next year's gubernatorial and US senate election.”

The poll, using live telephone interviews, was conducted Sept. 10-19, surveying 1,734 California adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

