President Obama is not a very popular leader right now, but while his low approval ratings in states such as Alabama and Utah aren’t surprising, even blue state Californians are frustrated with the commander in chief.

The Golden State has long been a source of support for the president, both financial and electoral. He beat Mitt Romney here in 2012 by 22 points, and John McCain by 24 points in 2008.

But as The Sacramento Bee reports Tuesday, “Only 45 percent of California voters hold a favorable view of Obama’s job performance, according to a new Field Poll released today, down five percentage points from June and dropping below 50 percent for the first time since late 2011. Disapproval climbed to 43 percent.”

In case you were wondering, 2011’s low numbers probably owe to the government shutdown that dragged approval of both parties way, way down.

Pollsters attribute the recent California drop, more than anything, to a loss of support among the president’s base.

Nationally, Obama does much worse than in California. According to Gallup, 52 percent of Americans disapprove of the president’s job performance, and only 42 percent approve.

Obama’s unpopularity is widely expected to hurt his party in the upcoming midterm elections, both on the national and statewide level. Dan Walters of The Sacramento Bee explains:

— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer