Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has increased in popularity among state residents, as more people begin to make up their mind about the Republican governor, a new Goucher College poll released Monday found.
The poll, which surveyed 636 Maryland residents, found that 54 percent of those surveyed had a favorable opinion of Mr. Hogan, nine months into his first term — a 21 percent increase in favorability since the college last conducted its poll in February.
Forty-two percent of residents approve how he has handled job creation and 52 percent of residents approve how he has handled economic growth. He also has support on his tax agenda, with 52 percent approving his effort to cut taxes and fees.
His numbers dip when it comes to crime and criminal justice, with 43 percent of residents approving how he has handled that, including the Freddie Gray police brutality case and ensuing riots which broke out in Baltimore in April.
The jump in his overall favorability ratings means that he is getting support across the aisle in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1. He has the support from Republicans locked up, with 80 percent of members of his own party approving his work, but 54 percent of Democrats also approve of how he’s doing.
Despite the jump in popularity, nearly a third of Maryland residents still don’t know how they feel about the governor, who is also making headlines for battling stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma while running the state.
But residents do have a positive impression of what he has done so far, with 58 percent of those surveyed saying that Mr. Hogan has done a good job as governor — an 18 percent increase from February.
Mr. Hogan won the governor’s mansion in an upset victory over Democrat Anthony Brown in November 2014, the lieutenant governor for former Gov. Martin O’Malley. Mr. Hogan’s platform was to curb state spending and lower taxes. He has never before held elected office.
The Republican governor has clashed with the Democrat-controlled state legislature over education spending, which Mr. Hogan wanted to cut supplemental spending to pay off the state debt. He has also taken up fights with them over mass transit issues by canceling a Red Line light rail project in Baltimore.
The poll also found:
• There is a racial disparity in how black and white people view the importance of race when interacting with police. Sixty percent of white respondents agreed that people of all races receive equal treatment by police, but only 27 percent of black respondents agreed. Two thirds of respondents agreed that police in their community were held accountable for misconduct.
• Sixty-five percent of those surveyed believed confederate memorials in Maryland should not be removed.
• President Obama enjoys high approval ratings in the state, with 53 percent of those surveyed supporting his performance, but Congress has dismal ratings, with only 9 percent of those polled believing that the national legislature has done a good job.
• Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said congressional districts should be redrawn and by an independent panel, a departure from the current system where elected officials in the state legislature draw the lines — a process supported by 21 percent of those surveyed.
The survey was conducted by Goucher College’s Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center between Sept. 26 and Sept. 30, polling 636 Maryland residents, of which 529 said they were registered voters. The survey has a 3.9 percentage-point margin of error.
• Anjali Shastry can be reached at ashastry@washingtontimes.com.
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