I think what this shows is that there’s a perceived problem with the Democratic Party. Democratic Party policies are often popular on their own (see the numerous Medicaid referendums), but the party’s candidates aren’t. I’d assume that this comes from a lot of socially conservative and economically liberal voters who value social conservatism over economic liberalism.
FWIW I think there's a whole host of Conservative ballot measures that could pass; I know it was quite different back then but California was willing to elect democratic senators & strong majorities while passing ballot measures that were quite conservative
How long ago was this? During Schwarzenegger's first term he Champion a lot of conservative ballot measures that all got massacred in the polls. He quickly backed off trying to be a partisan and became mr. Rockefeller Republican at work. I don't recall any such attempts since then.
