Marylanders Approve of Hogan's Job Performance, According to WaPo-UMD Poll

According to the latest iteration of The Washington Post-UMD Poll, 61% approve of the way Larry Hogan is handling his job as governor of Maryland. This is a considerable improvement over the February poll, which indicated an approval rating of 42%. The percentage of respondents who did not have an opinion on the governor’s performance dropped dramatically from 34% in February to 18% in October.

Hogan’s performance evaluation among respondents was particularly strong on the economy (59% approval), working with Democrats in the MD legislature (54% approval), and transportation (52% approval). His approval was lower on taxes (49% approval) and education (47% approval). Read The Washington Post story.

Sixty-five percent of registered voters said they had a favorable impression of Gov. Hogan, a striking level of support. 

“The new poll results show strong support for Governor Hogan and help explain why former Gov. O’Malley’s campaign to win the Democratic nomination for president hasn’t taken root. Not only was Martin O’Malley unpopular when he left office, Marylanders have embraced his successor. A number of media outlets have focused on O’Malley’s extensive executive experience in a blue state, but they have largely failed to give enough weight to his low favorability rating as his term ended—and to the damage that did to his lieutenant governor’s bid to succeed him,” said Associate Professor of Government and Politics Michael J. Hanmer, research director of UMD’s Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC).

Forty-eight percent of respondents indicated approval of the way Democrats in the Maryland state legislature are doing their job, largely unchanged since the February iteration of the poll. While public education was a top priority for voters in that same poll, it is an issue that is even more important to Maryland voters, according to the new data.

Public education again stood out as the issue on which Maryland residents most wanted the governor and state legislature to focus, according to the new poll. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said public education should be the top issue, with 20% saying the economy and 13% taxes. Education was the top issue in the February iteration of the poll, but then 26% of respondents said it should be the top issue, with taxes coming in second (18%), and the economy a close third (16%).

“The level of support for making public education the top priority for the governor and state legislature is notable on its own. That support increased by more than 10 points should be a strong signal to the state’s elected officials,” Professor Hanmer said.

Several other social issues were explored in the poll:

·        A law that would require businesses in Maryland to provide workers at least five paid sick days a year received overwhelming support, with 83% of Maryland residents who participated in the poll indicating they would support such a law.

·        There was also strong support for shorter prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders (69% support from respondents)

·        Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they would support helping Syrian civil war refugees resettle in Maryland

Additional Topics

Former members of Congress and members of the Maryland legislature will participate in a special event in November at the University of Maryland to further discuss the poll and results related to campaign finance.

About the Poll

This third iteration of The Washington Post-University of Maryland poll was conducted by telephone October 8-11, 2015, among a random sample of 1,006 adult residents of Maryland. Interviews were conducted by live interviewers on both conventional and cellular phones. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.66 percentage points. Sampling, data collection and tabulation were conducted by Abt-SRBI, Inc. of New York, NY.

Ahead of recent Democratic presidential hopeful debates, the current iteration of the poll explored Gov. O’Malley’s levels of support within Maryland, as well as current support for the Democratic field overall.

The University of Maryland and The Washington Post first teamed up to present the poll in October 2014, focusing on issues related to the Maryland gubernatorial race, and related issues including immigration, taxes, education, gay marriage and healthcare. The second iteration of the poll in February shed light on what Marylanders thought Gov. Larry Hogan and his administration should prioritize considering tax and expenditure issues—namely, education.

The partnership combines the world-class reporting, polling and public engagement resources of The Post with rigorous academic analysis from the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ nationally-renowned Department of Government and Politics, through CAPC. The poll is designed to provide academics, students and members of the public with insight into both key races and the issues that matter to Maryland voters.

In addition to its impact as a public education tool, the poll also represents a unique research opportunity for UMD students. Hanmer and Associate Professor of Government and Politics Stella Rouse, director of CAPC, work with students affiliated with the Center on the design of the poll questions and the analysis of its responses.

The poll is directed for The Washington Post by Peyton Craighill, polling manager, and Scott Clement, a polling survey research analyst, as well as by Hanmer for the University of Maryland.

Published on Thu, Oct 15, 2015 - 9:27AM