Support is highest in the Bay Area at 77%; statewide, 91% of voters say the economy is working in favor of big corporations
SACRAMENTO – Recent polling from Hart Research finds Californians support the COMPETE Act by more than two to one, 68% to 32%. The bill is on Gov. Newsom’s desk, who has until the end of September to act on it. Voters see the bill as an affordability priority that responds to the problem that a handful of dominant corporations are a reason the cost of living keeps climbing.
“Californians are getting squeezed everywhere they turn: at the grocery store, at the pharmacy counter, on platforms they can’t opt out of, because Big Tech CEOs have spent years making sure there’s nowhere else to go,” said Sacha Haworth, Executive Director of Tech Oversight California. “The COMPETE Act gives California real ways to hold these companies accountable when they rig the market and rip people off. Now, Governor Newsom needs to sign it into law and help California tackle the affordability crisis.”
Across California, 91% of voters say the economy is working well for large corporations; conversely, 81% say it is not working well for average working families, and 83% say it is not working well for small businesses. Overall, 80% say large corporations have too much power.
The COMPETE Act (Assembly Bill 1776), authored by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, updates the Cartwright Act, California’s antitrust law, written in 1907, so that it reaches anticompetitive conduct by a single dominant company.
After hearing the arguments on both sides, independents backed the COMPETE Act 70% to 30%. California’s antitrust law update holds majority support in every region of the state. Support is strongest in the San Francisco Bay Area, where voters back it 77% to 23% – the highest margin anywhere in California.
Cost of living was the most persuasive case for the bill
The strongest argument tested for updating California’s antitrust laws was affordability: 59% of voters found it convincing that the growing power of a few big companies has raised prices for food, groceries, and medicines; made it harder for small businesses to compete; and driven down wages – including 41% who found it very convincing, the highest intensity of any message in the survey.
Voters also see the squeeze coming from specific industries: 75% say big technology companies take unfair advantage of their size and dominance to reduce competition; 85% say the same about big drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers, and 60% about big food processors and grocery chains.
Large majorities say dominant corporations take unfair advantage of their power at the expense of consumers (83%), small businesses (85%), and workers (80%).
Californians want the state to act
74% of voters say it’s important for California to have strong laws to promote fair competition and stop dominant corporations from acting anti-competitively. Asked about existing law, 48% say California needs stronger laws, versus 27% who say current law is strong enough.
Voters also see the issue as consequential at the ballot box. They say they would be more likely to reelect a state senator who voted to pass the COMPETE Act, 50% to 26%, and less likely to reelect one who voted to defeat or block it, 48% to 19%.
Voters reject the opposition’s coalition and its arguments
By 57% to 18%, voters said they agree more with the consumer organizations, labor unions, and small business groups backing the COMPETE Act than with the California Chamber of Commerce and trade associations representing big technology companies.
Neither of the industry’s arguments persuaded a majority. The claim that the bill is poorly written and should be delayed convinced 48% of voters. The claim that acting against Amazon, Walmart, Google, and Apple would raise prices and reduce choice convinced 44%.
Majorities of Californians were persuaded by proponents’ arguments: 58% found it convincing that 45 other states already treat anticompetitive conduct by a single dominant firm as illegal and that it is time for California to catch up. 54% found it convincing that the bill reaches large corporations only when they engage in illegal conduct that harms consumers, workers, and small businesses, leaving companies that play by the rules unaffected.
About Tech Oversight California
Tech Oversight California is a Sacramento-based advocacy group dedicated to reinforcing the ongoing fight to build a better internet in California and beyond by holding Big Tech platforms accountable and moving the state forward as a national and global role model for strong tech regulation.
Hart Research surveyed 600 likely California voters August 19-23, 2026, by telephone and online. Margin of error: ±4.0 percentage points.
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