Marylanders Feeling Pinch With Rising Prices, But Feel Good About State's Economy & Hogan, Poll Finds
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Marylanders continue to hold Gov. Larry Hogan in a favorable light.
According to the latest Goucher Poll, 65% of residents approve of the job Hogan is doing as governor, with 55% saying the state is heading in the right direction.
Of the 635 Marylanders surveyed, 25% said they disapproved of the Republican governor's performance and 8% said they did not know.
Hogan's approval rating has remained pretty consistent over the last several years, despite Maryland being a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by roughly 2 to 1. In October 2020, 71% of respondents gave Hogan a favorable review, and in September 2019, it was 64%.
Support for President Joe Biden in Maryland is not nearly as strong. Only 48% of respondents said they approve of the job the president is doing, a five-point drop from October and a 14-point drop from March.
Broken down by political party, Democrats and Republicans are, unsurprisingly, sharply divided on Biden's performance. According to the poll, 68% of Democrats approve of how he's run the country, while 82% of Republicans disapprove. Among independent voters, 62% disapprove.
The poll found that while most Marylanders are feeling a pinch amid rising prices, they feel positive on the whole about the state's economy and direction.
Economic Outlook
More than half of Marylanders reported that recent price increases have caused economic hardship. Over a quarter of Marylanders, 26%, said they have experienced minor hardship, while 30% of Marylanders said they have experienced major financial hardship.
When asked how they feel about the economic situation in Maryland, just over half of the respondents, 52%, said they hold a positive view. That might not come as a surprise, considering Maryland's multi-billion dollar budget surplus and revenue estimates.
Republican Governor Larry Hogan has laid out a framework to spend the surplus on major tax relief for the state's retirees and direct tax relief to Marylanders in general.
Nearly half of Marylanders in the poll, 49%, are with Hogan on that, saying the state should spend its budgetary surplus on tax cuts. The other 50% said the state should spend it on increasing funding for public services. One percent of respondents did not have an opinion or did not reply.
A quarter of the residents surveyed, 25%, said crime and public safety is what they want the state government to prioritize. Seventeen percent of respondents prioritized education, and 14% said economic issues and jobs should be a priority.
In terms of the state's direction, 55% of respondents said Maryland is heading in the right direction, and 32% said Maryland is on the wrong track.
Pollsters with Goucher College interviewed 635 Marylanders for the survey from March 1-6. Of those interviewed, 593 Maryland adults identified as registered voters. There's a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
