ANNAPOLIS, MD — Yet another ranking shows that Blue State Maryland voters like, maybe even love, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. The ranking — at the end of a sometimes contentious legislative session where Hogan battled Democratic lawmakers over school improvement and renewable energy — is a good sign as the first-term GOP leader gets ready for his re-election effort.

According to Morning Consult, Hogan's constituents give him an approval rating of 73 percent to a 16 percent disapproval score. Only 11 percent of those sounding off said they didn't know how to grade Hogan. (Get Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts, or like us on Facebook. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.) The new ranking gives Hogan even higher marks than a late February Goucher Poll, which showed that nearly two-thirds of Maryland residents gave him high marks for his first time in office. In the Goucher Poll, 63 percent of Maryland adults approved of the job Hogan is doing as governor, 17 percent disapproved, and 20 percent didn't know. The high poll numbers came despite attempts by opponents to tie him to the unpopular policies of President Donald Trump — Hogan didn't support Trump and refused to vote for him in November.

According to Morning Consult's governor approval rankings, the two most popular governors are Republicans in traditionally blue states: Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Hogan of Maryland. Both governors have reputations as shrewd, bipartisan dealmakers who value results over party purity, and their constituents seem to appreciate that style. Three-fourths (75 percent) of Bay Staters approve of Baker, while 17 percent disapprove. In Maryland, 73 percent approve of Hogan. The governor's executive order that moved the official school start date to Maryland public schools until after Labor Day weekend received nearly 70 percent support of residents polled in recent months, although it enraged teacher unions and many of the state's school boards. Hogan called the change common sense, and said the only difficulties were created by "unreasonable teachers union contracts."

The least liked governor is New Jersey's Chris Christie, who Hogan had supported in his short-lived run for president in 2016. Hogan's public decision not to endorse or vote for presidential candidate Donald Trump was e a good move in the eyes of many Marylanders; the governor said he wrote in his father for president.

The 10 most popular governors are:

No. 1 Massachusetts, Charlie Baker

No. 2 Maryland, Larry Hogan

No. 3 North Dakota, Doug Burgum

No. 4 Vermont, Phil Scott

No. 5 Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson

No. 6 South Dakota, Dennis Daugaard

No. 7 Nevada, Brian Sandoval

No. 8 Delaware, John Carney

No. 9 Tennessee, Bill Haslam

No. 10 Texas, Greg Abbott Of the 10 least popular state leaders, eight are Republicans, one is an Independent and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is the sole Democrat on the list.

According to the rankings, these are the least popular governors in America: Chris Christie (R-NJ) Sam Brownback (R-KS) Dannel Malloy (D-CT) Rick Snyder (R-MI) Mary Fallin (R-OK) Bill Walker (I-AK) Bruce Rauner (R-IL) Scott Walker (R-WI) Susana Martinez (R-NM) Robert Bentley, who struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to misusing of campaign funds in connection with a sex scandal that dogged the embattled politician and resigned on Monday (R-AL) Methods for rankings: