More than 70 percent of those polled said they expected bad economic times in the coming year – that’s up 33 percent from a year ago. “That’s a record level of pessimism about the state’s economy.” But the P-P-I-C’s Mark Baldassare says they’re also seeing a record level of interest in the upcoming election: “More attention to the primary candidates, and the early primaries than we’ve ever seen before in our surveys.” He says that means candidates really need to address Californians’ economic concerns if they want their votes. The silver lining of the survey? Baldassare says half of Californians believe the Governor and the legislature will be able to work together to accomplish a lot in the next year. However, the approval ratings of both the Governor and the legislature were down in the poll – by about seven percent.