A new Maryland Now poll shows that a solid majority of Marylanders (56 percent) approve of the job Gov. Wes Moore is doing, while 39 percent disapprove. This is a net approval of +17 percent and an increase from when the question was asked in July 2025, and his approval was +8 percent.
The statewide poll was conducted by Blended Public Affairs in partnership with Perry Jacobson. It also showed that if the election were held today, 58 percent would vote for Moore, while 31percent said they would vote for Republican challenger Dan Cox. Moore is generally more popular than the Democratic Party at large, which received 50 percent approval and 47 percent disapproval ratings of the job it is doing.
“Barring something unforeseen happening over the next 85 days, Governor Moore appears to be on a glide path to re-election,” said Adam Carlson, founding partner of Zenith Research, which conducted the poll. “He leads Republican Dan Cox across every gender, age group, race/ethnicity, and income bracket. And he has a much stronger approval rating than the Democratic Party among voters under age 35, those in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, Black voters with a four-year college degree, and progressives.”
Of the Democrats polled, 67 percent consider themselves “more of a supporter of the Democratic Party” and the remaining 33 percent see themselves as “more of a supporter of progressive causes and the progressive movement.”
As for the Republican respondents, 49 percent consider themselves “more of a supporter of the Republican Party”. The remaining 32 percent describe themselves as “more of a supporter of the MAGA movement” or 19 percent who consider themselves “more of a supporter of the ‘American First’ movement.”
The Maryland Now poll also asked residents about energy costs, the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores, and how to address bridges that are not structurally sound.
When it comes to the cost of meeting growing energy demands, the majority of those polled support both building more nuclear power plants (56 percent) and keeping natural gas plants operating longer (56 percent). This includes a majority of self-identified Democrats.
As for picking up a six-pack of beer or bottle of wine at the grocery store, 79 percent support legalizing the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores. Those results crossed nearly every line, with 70 percent support across every demographic, geographic, and political subgroup.
Support for forming public-private partnerships to address structurally deficient bridges around the state was not quite as strong but still surpassed a majority at 58 percent. Respondents in favor of these partnerships also crossed party and ideological lines, with 60 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of liberals/progressives, and 58 percent of conservatives saying they approve.
This is the fourth installment of Maryland Now statewide issue poll conducted by Blended Public Affairs in partnership with Perry Jacobson. Additional surveys will be conducted throughout the year. The survey included 800 likely general election voters in Maryland, and was conducted by Zenith Research between July 27, 2026, and August 3, 2026, using a mix of text-to-web and an online opt-in panel.
