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Hogan approval high, new poll finds

Rachel Baye

Gov. Larry Hogan’s approval rating remains strong among Marylanders, with 63 percent of adults approving of the job he is doing, according to a new Goucher Poll out Monday.

That’s almost exactly where the Republican governor’s popularity was a year ago, despite recent by Democrats to tie Hogan to Republican President Donald Trump.

In fact, there’s a drastic difference between how Marylanders feel about their governor and how they feel about Trump, said Mileah Kromer, who oversees the poll as the director of Goucher College’s Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center. Roughly 60 percent of Marylanders disapprove of Trump, compared with the 63 percent who approve of Hogan.

“It turns out that around 57 percent of Marylanders say that they would like to give Larry Hogan, if he was up for reelection this year, that they would vote for him again, or they would at least lean towards Gov. Hogan,” Kromer said.

The poll also asked about several policy proposals currently before the General Assembly. Among them:  Should the state require businesses to offer employees paid sick leave?

There are two competing paid leave proposals in the legislature. The main difference is that Democrats want businesses with at least 15 employees to offer paid leave, while Hogan proposes setting the bar at businesses with 50 employees.

Kromer’s poll asked about both options.

“One half of our sample had a question about 15 as the minimum, and the other half got 50 as the minimum,” Kromer said. “There is absolutely no difference, in the eyes of Marylanders, whether it’s 15 or 50, and this really speaks to the fact that a lot of times people don’t pay attention to these very specific nuances of policy.”

On transportation policy, the poll shows an interesting trend. Over the last three years, Kromer has asked the same question about whether the state should focus on improving public transportation or improving roads and highways. Three years ago, when Hogan first stepped into office, 50 percent favored roads. Now 59 percent do.

Rachel Baye is a senior reporter and editor in WYPR's newsroom.
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