J U N E 2 0 0 7 Californians their government & in collaboration with The James Irvine Foundation Mark Baldassare Dean Bonner Jennifer Paluch Sonja Petek PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE OF CALIFORNIA 500 Washington Street, Suite 800 San Francisco, California 94111 phone: 415.291.4400 fax: 415.291.4401 www.ppic.org
[email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Survey 1 Press Release 3 State Issues 7 National Issues 15 Regional Map 25 Methodology 27 Questionnaire and Results 29 ABOUT THE SURVEY The PPIC Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the general public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. Inaugurated in April 1998, this is the 78th PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that has generated a database that includes the responses of over 162,000 Californians. This survey is the 24th in our Californians and Their Government series, which is conducted periodically to examine the social, economic, and political trends that influence public policy preferences and ballot choices. It is supported by funding from The James Irvine Foundation. The current survey seeks to raise public awareness, inform decision makers, and stimulate public discussion of state and national issues. The survey examines Californians’ opinions about the overall direction of the state and the nation, their attitudes toward the job performance of the state and federal elected officials who represent them, and their early preferences in the 2008 presidential primaries. We also ask residents about their attitudes and preferences regarding current policy issues such as health care coverage, immigration, and Iraq.