The majority of Maryland voters say the cost of living is worse than a year ago and that President Donald Trump is poorly handling the economy, according to a new poll by Gonzales Research & Media Services.
Nearly two-thirds of the state’s voters disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president, while only about one-third approve.
Ratings were a near-perfect mirror across party lines, with a 90% disapproval and 9% approval among Democrats, while Republicans gave the president an 89% approval and 10% disapproval.
“Each side anchors its convictions like a cargo ship in the Bay waiting to get to the
Port, leaving independents as the only group here where persuasion still seems possible,” Gonzales writes.
Among Independents, 56% disapprove of the job the president is doing, while 42% approve.
Household expenses are higher than 12 months ago according to 67% of Marylanders. One-quarter said the cost of living hasn’t changed, while just 9% said it has improved.
Three-quarters of Democrats said things had gotten more expensive. Republicans’ outlook was far from rosy either, with half saying the cost of living had worsened and only 24% saying it had improved. About two-thirds of Independents also said conditions had become worse.
“Across party lines, the sense of rising costs is unmistakable,” Gonzales wrote. “There’s a collective feeling in Maryland that we are running faster only to stay in place.”
On Trump’s handling of the economy, six in 10 Marylanders described his performance as poor. Only one-third said the president had done an excellent or good job handling the economy, while only 7% said Trump had put up a fair performance.
“This isn’t a muddled verdict but a decisively lopsided one,” Gonzales wrote.
The Gonzales poll surveyed 808 likely Maryland voters by phone from Dec. 21 through Jan. 6. There is a 95% probability that the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
