In worrying sign for Dems, strong majority of Californians say state, federal taxes are too high

A sizable majority of California voters claim that their state and federal tax burdens are too high, data that send a troubling signal to Democratic politicians scrambling to shore up votes during a contentious midterm election year.

Polling by the Los Angeles Times and the University of California, Berkeley shows that “nearly two-thirds of California voters say the state and federal income taxes they pay are too high,” a number that has increased by 10 percentage points relative to a similar poll conducted a decade ago. 

About four in 10 voters in the poll also claimed that their financial situations are worse off now than they were a year ago.

The broad discontent with taxes and finances comes as Democrats prepare for what may be a brutal midterm election in California, a state where Democrats have enjoyed assumed electoral victories for decades. 

Democratic President Joe Biden’s cratering popularity, combined with a backlash to heavy-handed COVID policies, have created fertile grounds for Democratic losses across the country in the November elections. 

Midterms have historically thrown control of either the House or the Senate or both to the party opposite of that in the White House. 

The last president to see wins for his party in both chambers during midterms was George W. Bush in 2002; the last Democrat to see such a victory was Jimmy Carter in 1978.