Hogan Rated Higher Than Biden, Legal Marijuana + Abortion Supported: Poll

MARYLAND — Marylanders gave Gov. Larry Hogan (R) a higher approval rating than President Joe Biden (D) in the latest Goucher College Poll. The survey, released Thursday, also suggested that most Marylanders supported legalizing recreational marijuana and continuing to allow abortions. The majority of respondents also said Maryland is a northern state.

Politician Approval Ratings

Hogan's approval rating sat at 68 percent compared to Biden's 53 percent. The president saw a dropoff from March when 62 percent of Marylanders approved of his performance.

Hogan's political action committee, An America United, thinks this proves the "overwhelming majority of Americans are demanding their leaders work together to find bipartisan, commonsense solutions."

"President Biden has attempted to advance his partisan agenda on a party-line vote," An America United said in a press release. "Governor Hogan has worked across party lines to cut taxes, rebuild crumbling infrastructure, and reduce the cost of health care."

Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, both Democrats, earned 44 percent and 46 percent approval ratings respectively.

Marijuana, Abortion Opinions

Sixty percent of Marylanders supported legalizing recreational marijuana. This is a seven-point drop from the March tally. A third opposed legalizing the drug for recreational uses.

The majority of residents (88 percent) favored keeping abortion legal. Half those supporters said abortion should be allowed in all cases, but just as many only wanted it legal in some situations.

Maryland Pride

As the Old Line State, residents frequently debate whether Maryland is more northern or southern. About two-thirds (65 percent) think Maryland is a northern state. Around a quarter (27 percent) believe it is southern.

Most respondents (53 percent) held a predominantly positive perception of the Maryland economy. About 37 percent had a mostly negative view.

At 59 percent, the majority of residents think Maryland is heading in the right direction. Another 31 percent believe it is on the wrong track.

Local parks have seen increased demand since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The results suggested that 84 percent of Marylanders are somewhat (33 percent) or very (51 percent) interested in visiting a state park during the next year. The remainder preferred not to go.

Government Spending

Pollsters also asked participants whether the state government spends too little, about the right amount or too much on several services. These were their responses:

Public Education

• Too little: 54 percent
• Right amount: 31 percent
• Too much: 9 percent

Public Transportation

• Too little: 40 percent
• Right amount: 43 percent
• Too much: 9 percent

Roads And Highways

• Too little: 47 percent
• Right amount: 41 percent
• Too much: 8 percent

State Parks

• Too little: 27 percent
• Right amount: 59 percent
• Too much: 6 percent

Housing And Community Development

• Too little: 47 percent
• Right amount: 30 percent
• Too much: 15 percent

Unemployment Assistance

• Too little: 32 percent
• Right amount: 34 percent
• Too much: 27 percent

"Skyrocketing visitation rates to Maryland state parks over the past two years have left the Department of Natural Resources struggling to meet the increased demand," said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College. "But there is a pretty clear disconnect: Despite clear pressures on the park system from increased visitation, nearly sixty percent of residents think that the amount of funding that state parks receive is 'about right.'"

Poll Specs

The Goucher College Poll conducted phone surveys with 700 randomly dialed adult Marylanders between Oct. 14 and Oct. 20. Interviewers only called between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m.

About 84 percent of participants used cell phones. The other 16 percent were on landlines.

The margin of error is+/- 3.7 percent. That means there is a 95 percent chance that the survey estimates are within 3.7 percentage points of the true values among all Marylanders.

This was part one of the poll, which is viewable here. Goucher College will release the second section on this website Wednesday at 12:01 a.m.

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