ARNOLD'S POLL NUMBERS DIP LATEST SURVEY FINDS DROP IN POPULARITY AMONG DEMOCRATS, INDEPENDENTS.

Byline: Steve Geissinger and Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

Amid partisan moves on the state budget and other issues, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity among Democrats has dropped 10 points in the past month, according to a poll released today.

Analysts and lawmakers said the Public Policy Institute of California survey follows Schwarzenegger's speech at the Republican National Convention, taking positions on ballot initiatives, campaigning for GOP legislative candidates and 11th-hour legislative moves on urban gambling and highway funds that surprised Democrats.

``His support among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents in a Democrat-leaning state is fragile,'' said Mark Baldassare, director of the statewide, nonpartisan PPIC poll.

Among Democrats, the governor's job approval rating fell 10 points since an August poll, from 57 percent to 47 percent; and three points, from 66 percent to 63 percent, among independent voters.

Among all likely voters, Schwarzenegger took only a five-point hit, helped by a slight increase in support from GOP voters.

A sizable 64 percent of likely voters statewide still say they approve of how he is handling his job. Among Republicans, 88 percent approve of his job performance.

Schwarzenegger administration officials cited his self-proclaimed bipartisan approach to state woes for his overall high level of popularity since ousting former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in last October's recall election.

``The individual micro-issues are certainly important but, overall, people understand he's doing the people's business and sticking up for their best interests,'' said Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson.

Some lawmakers in the Democrat-dominated Legislature, however, had other explanations for the governor's drop in popularity in the survey conducted Sept. 12 through last Sunday.

``All governors go through a honeymoon period, regardless of party,'' said Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys. ``Perhaps Arnold was different because of who he is. But at the same time while he is Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is also the governor ... and maybe some of the Democrats who supported him because he was Arnold now are not in love with him because he's the governor.''

Assemblyman Tony Strickland, R-Westlake Village, said even with the drop, Schwarzenegger's numbers are still admirable.

``Any politician would love to have Arnold Schwarzenegger's numbers,'' Strickland said. ``Almost two-thirds of the population approves of the job he's doing. We can talk about him dropping, but there's no way anybody can keep a 70 percent approval rating and make any kind of decision in California.''

Lawmakers and analysts said his treatment of some Democratic legislation - such as vetoing a minimum-wage hike Saturday - could figure in the poll numbers.

``The governor has to make a lot of decisions and some people are going to be unhappy with every decision he makes,'' said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. ``This overall rating is still something that most governors would envy.''

The latest telephone poll was conducted among 2,003 respondents. Its margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Steve Geissinger, [phone]

sgeissinger(at)angnewspapers.com