Poll Finds Support for DEI Policies in California is Slipping

Poll Finds Support for DEI Policies in California is Slipping

These policies are the opposite of what the Civil Rights Movement fought for.

Politico reports:

Poll: Support for campus diversity policies is sputtering in California

Campus diversity policies are drawing skepticism in deep-blue California, according to a new poll from POLITICO and its partners.

Nearly four in 10 registered voters in the state think universities with diversity, equity and inclusion programs that favor certain groups for hiring and promotion should lose federal funding, a new POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey found.

California voters are deeply split along party lines over hot-button issues on college campuses, including DEI programs and whether antisemitism is a major problem, the poll showed. But a plurality of independents — 42 percent — do not support such diversity programs, compared to 30 percent who disagree that campuses with DEI hiring policies should be penalized.

The polling comes amid President Donald Trump’s escalating war on diversity initiatives. On his first day back in the White House he deemed DEI programs discriminatory and moved to eradicate them from the public sector. Democrats for years have led the pro-diversity push, but have grappled with how to significantly counter Trump’s rhetoric and punitive actions, particularly on campuses.

Diversity policies have become more politically divisive in recent years, with the term DEI itself becoming highly polarizing as it has been “aggressively criticized by the Trump administration as being deeply problematic,” Possibility Lab executive director Amy Lerman said.

About 71 percent of Republicans surveyed agreed that colleges with DEI programs should lose federal cash, compared to the 18 percent of Democrats.

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