Gov. Larry Hogan’s high marks aren’t slipping as he approaches a chance for re-election November, though at least one in five voters remains undecided when asked to choose between him and a given Democratic challenger, the latest Goucher Poll finds.
Hogan’s approval rating stands at an impressive 69 percent with about half a year left until Election Day. Twenty-one percent of voters said they disapprove of his performance as governor. The finding echoes other recent polls pegging his approval rating somewhere above 60 percent.
Between 44 and 47 percent said they would pick Gov. Larry Hogan over any of seven chosen Democratic challengers (there are nine in all, counting late edition James Jones and perennial candidate Ralph Jaffe). But a significant share—between 22 and 27 percent, depending on the chosen Dem–said they were undecided in those hypothetical matchups.
Returning to a regular question, the Goucher Poll determined close to half of Marylanders think Hogan has distanced himself “about the right amount” from President Trump, who logged a dismal 25 percent approval rating in Maryland in the new poll. Twenty-seven percent said Hogan has not distanced himself enough.
While they’re occupy completely different levels of government, Hogan and Trump’s shared party affiliation could nevertheless affect votes. The Goucher Poll found 36 percent of Maryland residents said their view of Trump will have “a lot” or some influence on their gubernatorial choice in November.
The Towson-based poll broke new ground in April by asking voters about their baseball allegiances. One in three respondents said they identify as Orioles fans, 13 percent root for the Washington Nationals and 5 percent pull for other teams. More broadly, 48 percent said they are not fans of Major League Baseball.
The poll surveyed 617 adults from April 14-19, with a 3.9 percent margin of error.
