A growing number of Democrats oppose California’s plan to ban sales of new gas-powered cars starting in 2035, according to a new Public Policy Institute of California poll.
What happened: Two-thirds of the registered voters surveyed in the nonpartisan think tank’s July poll on environmental policy said they oppose Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020 executive order that aims to phase out new gas and diesel vehicle sales over the next decade.
While that figure largely tracks with previous PPIC polling on the issue, the most notable shift in opinion emerged among liberals.
Half of the 611 Democrats surveyed said they oppose the ban, while 49 percent indicated they support it. PPIC’s July 2025 poll found that 55 percent of registered Democrats supported the gas-car ban, while 44 percent opposed the policy goal.
