Less than three weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, Gov. Jerry Brown has never been more popular, and nearly two-thirds of adults in the nation’s most populous state want California to go its own way on climate change and immigration. | AP Photo Poll: California rallies around Jerry Brown, eager to battle Trump

SACRAMENTO – Less than three weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, Gov. Jerry Brown has never been more popular, and nearly two-thirds of adults in the nation’s most populous state want California to go its own way on climate change and immigration, according to a new poll.

The poll, released late Thursday by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, comes amid intensifying conflict between Trump and heavily Democratic California. State lawmakers are fast-tracking legislation to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation, and they have hired Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general, to help prepare for potential litigation against the Trump administration on issues ranging from climate change to health care and immigration.


Brown’s approval rating of 62 percent is a record high for the fourth-term governor in PPIC surveys, up from 57 percent in December. The Democrat-controlled Legislature has also seen its stock improve since Trump took office. Its 57 percent approval rating is the highest it has been since before the energy crisis in 2001.

Trump’s lopsided loss to Hillary Clinton in California in November contributed significantly to his loss of the national popular vote, and the president remains unpopular in the state after taking office. Just 30 percent of California adults approve of Trump’s job performance, according to the poll.

Californians’ view of the Republican-controlled Congress is also dismal, with one-third of adults approving of the job Congress is doing, according to the poll.

While Trump was never expected to post favorable marks in deep blue California, the poll served as a significant measure of popular support for efforts at the state Capitol to resist his policies.

Sixty-five percent of California adults say the state and local governments should pursue their own policies to protect the rights of undocumented immigrants, while 63 percent of adults support state action to address global warming, according to the poll.

Asked what issue facing California is most important for Brown and lawmakers to address this year, immigration and illegal immigration rank first, tied with jobs and the economy.

Eight-five percent of Californians, including nearly two-thirds of Republicans, support a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Even among Californians who said they voted for Trump, 61 percent favor allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the state.

"People are feeling good about the way California’s going right now,” said Mark Baldassare, director of the poll. “This is where they’re asking leadership to step in and make sure that, for California, the status quo continues.”

This past weekend, Trump threatened to withhold funding from California if it moves forward with additional protections for undocumented immigrants, telling Fox News' Bill O’Reilly that “California in many ways is out of control.”

The poll, using live telephone interviews, was conducted Jan. 22-31, surveying 1,702 California adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

PPIC’s record of Brown’s public approval ratings does not include his first two terms, from 1975 to 1983. According to the recently closed Field Poll, Brown’s public approval ratings ran into the high 60s when he was first elected, before falling off in his second term.