Poll: Marylanders Approve Of Gov. Hogan; Senate Race Is Dead Heat

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Another good grade for Governor Larry Hogan from Maryland voters. A new poll shows 70% of Marylanders think he's doing a good job but he's not getting his way with the Democrat-led General Assembly.

Political reporter Pat Warren reports there's trouble ahead.

The voters may love him but there's static in the State House.

In typical fashion, the session starts with the Republican governor and Democrat leadership vowing to get along---and in typical fashion, more than halfway through the session they're butting heads.

"They're calling me names downstairs; there's a lot of partisanship going on downstairs, a lot of fingerpointing. I don't let it bother me. We're focused on trying to get things done," Hogan said.

A newly-released Gonzalez poll gives Hogan a 70% approval rating. That's up three points from January.

"I'm playing goalie. I'm trying to stop a lot of bad things from happening," Hogan said.

Those so-called bad things include 85 legislative proposals he says add up to $3.7 billion in new spending. On the other hand, Hogan wants to lift some of the funding already required by state law, called spending mandates.

"And an overwhelming majority do not support the actions they're taking," he said. "They support the actions we're taking."

But a committee co-chair denies any politics are involved.

"I work on the appropriations committee so I look at the budget bill and there are mandates in that too," said Delegate Tawanna Gaines. "Mandates that I believe were offered by the governor."

"It has nothing to do with I have a mandate or they have a mandate. It's about voting against most people in Maryland," Hogan said.

A House committee last week voted against a Hogan bill to reduce filing fees for corporations.