Marylanders have a growing anxiety about two issues that have been in the news a lot lately — public safety and health care — according to a new survey. The continuing surge in street crime in Baltimore and the spread of the coronavirus are responsible, the pollster behind the numbers said.
The Gonzales Maryland Poll found that crime is voters’ No. 1 issue in the state, at 24%, followed by health care, the top concern of 17% of residents surveyed.
Education (12%), taxes (11%) corruption (9%) and the environment (8%) followed.
Pollster Patrick Gonzales noted that health care was the top issue of Maryland residents just 5% of residents in January. He attributed the 12-point jump to fears about the coronavirus threat.
President Trump remains unpopular here, a finding that is reinforced in every survey. Just 42% of those polled approve of the job Trump is doing, with 55% voicing disapproval. That actually represents a slight uptick for the president from previous Gonzales polls.
Seventy percent of Marylanders approve of the job Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) is doing. One in five disapprove; 9% had no opinion. He is popular with voters of different parties, races and genders — and from different parts of the state.
Gonzales Research & Media Services conducted interviews with 827 registered voters, on both cell phones and landlines, from Feb. 22- 28. The survey had a 3.5-point margin of error.