Gov. Hogan Holds Onto Sky-High Approval Ratings: Poll

ANNAPOLIS, MD — It should come as no surprise after his easy re-election victory in November that as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan starts his second term, residents overwhelmingly approve of his job leading the state. Goucher Poll findings released Feb. 19 show that 69 percent of Marylanders approve of the job Larry Hogan is doing as governor, 14 percent disapprove, and 14 percent say they don’t know.

Maryland residents were asked questions about Gov. Hogan’s characteristics and qualities:

• 66 percent say “keeps his promises” describes him and 16 percent say it does not.
• 67 percent say “cares about the needs of people like you” describes him and 22 percent say it does not.
• 85 percent say “is likeable” describes him and 7 percent say it does not.
• 70 percent say “is honest and trustworthy” describes him and 13 percent say it does not.
• 79 percent say “works well with both parties to get things done” describes him and 10 percent say it does not.
• 80 percent say “can manage the government effectively” describes him and 11 percent say it does not.
• 65 percent say “puts the state’s interest ahead of his own political interests” describes him and 19 percent say it does not.

While the moderate Republican is being urged by some in his party to challenge President Donald Trump in a 2020 primary, most Marylanders don't support the idea. Goucher Poll findings show that only a third of the voters think that the popular moderate should run for president in 2020 and 55 percent do not.

SEE ALSO: Third Of Marylanders Want GOP's Hogan To Challenge Trump In 2020

Trust In State, Federal Government

Goucher's polling showed 30 percent of Marylanders approve of the way President Donald Trump is handling his job, while 66 percent disapprove. At this time last year, Trump’s approval rating in Maryland was 27 percent. Nineteen percent approve of the job Congress is doing and 74 percent disapprove.

When asked about the Maryland General Assembly, 41 percent approve of the job its doing, 30 percent disapprove, and 26 percent don’t know. Marylanders express higher levels of trust in their state government than in the federal government to do what is in the public’s interest.

• 73 percent say they can trust the state government “some” or “all” and 22 percent say they can trust it “none” or “very little” of the time.
• 34 percent say they can trust the federal government “some” or “all” and 64 percent say they can trust it “none” or “very little” of the time.

Direction Of The State And The Economy

Twenty-one percent of Marylanders identify an economic issue—jobs, taxes, economic growth, or the budget—and 16 percent identify education as the most important issues facing Maryland today. Another 12 percent say issues involving crime, criminal justice, and policing are the most important.

Marylanders hold similar views toward the direction of the state and the Maryland economy as they did at this time last year. Fifty-nine percent say Maryland is heading in the right direction and 25 percent say Maryland is off on the wrong track. The majority of Marylanders — 61 percent— hold a mostly positive view of the Maryland economy, while 28 percent hold a mostly negative view.

Those polled were asked whether they expect the changes to the federal tax code to increase, decrease, or have no effect on the amount of taxes they will pay. Nineteen percent think their taxes will decrease as a result of the new tax system, 48 percent think their taxes will increase, and 20 percent think the changes will have no effect. Last February, 26 percent thought their taxes will decrease, 44 percent thought their taxes will increase, and 18 percent thought the changes to the tax code would have no effect.

Hogan Comments On Presidential Race

After President Trump's popularity took a hit from the chaotic partial government shutdown, GOP sources said that Hogan — the second-most popular governor in the United States — was newly open to the suggestion that he mount a primary bid for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2020.

Hogan was interviewed by CBS News on Wednesday and didn't dismiss running for president, but he was careful not to embrace the idea either. He noted that he had won re-election in November and just began his second term.

"I would say I'm being approached from a lot of different people and I guess the best way to put it is, I haven't thrown them out of my office," Hogan told CBS.

Never a supporter of President Trump's candidacy or policies, Hogan went so far as to write in his late father on the presidential ballot rather than voting for the controversial Trump. After a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, left one woman dead and at least 19 people injured more than a year ago, Hogan condemned the gathering even as Trump said there were good people on both sides of the clashes.

When Hogan was asked by CBS if Trump is fit to be president he said, "I think there are times where he acts irrationally, and makes decisions and ... does things in a way that aren't great for the Republican Party, or for the country, or for him and his agenda, for that matter. I mean, I think sometimes he can be his own worst enemy."

Last summer Hogan downplayed talk of a presidential run. But a story in The New York Times in January 2019 says GOP detractors of the president are urging other Republicans to oppose his re-election efforts, and Hogan has indicated he is willing to listen to their pitch. GOP midterm losses in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — state's key to Trump's 2016 victory — and Trump's erosion with political moderates and women has surfaced talk within his party that the Mueller investigation and failure to win full funding for his touted wall on the Mexico border make the president vulnerable. And that it might be time for other candidates to challenge Trump.

Democratic presidential contenders have begun trekking to frigid Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses. Hogan is scheduled to visit the Midwestern state in March in his role as an officer of the National Governors Association. The Times reports an Iowa-based strategist was asked to hold a dinner with Republicans who see Trump as vulnerable while Hogan is in the state.

Hogan hasn't completely dismissed a presidential bid in 2020 or 2024. Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, both Republicans, have also refused to rule out a possible 2020 presidential run, Politico says.

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