Clinton's California Fan Club

President Clinton seems to have rebounded from the Lewinsky scandal in California, a state whose 54 electoral votes Al Gore needs to win the White House in November.

A statewide Field Poll released Friday finds that 62 percent of Californians approve of the job Mr. Clinton is doing, while just 29 percent disapprove. This continues a trend of 60 percent-plus approval ratings for the president in the last two years of Field Polls.

But personal feelings about the president have fluctuated. According to the new poll, conducted from June 9-13, 49 percent of voters say they like Mr. Clinton a lot or somewhat. That number reached an all-time low of 38 percent in March of 1999, in the wake of the impeachment proceedings against the president. Mr. Clinton's highest rating in terms of personal regard reached 54 percent in the state in 1993.

The Field Institute also polled Californians about their feelings toward the first lady. While she is still held in high regard, currently 53 percent of respondents say they like her, compared to 62 percent in March of last year, suggesting some may view her differently as a political candidate. Half of Californians say they would like to see her win a seat in the Senate, compared with 33 percent who would not.

The Field Institute is an independent, nonpartisan pubic opinion news service based in San Francisco. The current study polled 533 California adults.Results have a sampling error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.