Poll: State Government Should Focus On Crime

A plurality of Maryland voters believes crime should be the top priority of state lawmakers, a new poll finds.

The Gonzales Research poll was made public Tuesday, the day before the General Assembly begins its 2020 session.

READ THE POLL RESULTS

Of those polled, 31% said crime is the No. 1 issue that state government should tackle. The poll found just 16% viewed education as the top issue, while 11% said transportation, 9% said taxes, 9% said corruption, 6% said the opioid crisis and 5% said health care.

Pollster Patrick Gonzales said he believes it is the first time in at least 20 years of polling that voters have listed crime as the top issue facing state government.

Robert Lang interviews Patrick Gonzales:

The preoccupation with crime comes on the heels of a fifth straight year of more than 300 homicides in Baltimore City.

Nevertheless, lawmakers will likely spend substantial time on education, specifically drafting legislation to fund the state's $2.8 billion share of education reforms put forward by the Kirwan Commission over the next 10 years.

Gov. Larry Hogan's approval rating remains high at 75%, with 40% strongly approving of the job he is doing. Gonzales says the governor's approval rating is high both among Republicans and Democrats.

"What's so remarkable about Hogan's numbers, particularly in this day and age of extreme political polarization, is that his support, there's not much difference between Democrats, Republicans and independents," Gonzales said. "I've never seen a politician that has that kind of constant, balanced support."

The approval rating for President Donald Trump remains low among Maryland voters, with only 37% approving of the job he is doing as president, while 61% disapprove. Of those polled, 53% said they strongly disapproved of the president's job performance. Among Republicans, 85% approve of the job Trump is doing. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in Maryland by a two-to-one margin.

Fifty percent of those polled support the impeached president's removal from office, while 46% oppose Trump's removal. Republicans were nearly unanimous in opposing Trump's removal, while 71% of Democrats and 55% of unaffiliated voters support his removal.

The poll found that more than half of Maryland voters support legalizing marijuana for recreational use and suggested that voters in both parties were split in their assessments of current economic conditions in Maryland. However, 55% said they believe the economy will stay about the same over the next year.

The poll of 838 likely voters was conducted between Dec. 23 and Jan. 4. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%.