Poll: Taxes, economy are top concerns (MD)

The Washington Times ^ | 3-5-08 | Tom LoBianco

[JZelle]

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland residents are worried about the economy and taxes, according to poll results to be released today that show Gov. Martin O'Malley's popularity continuing to slide.

Marylanders gave Mr. O'Malley a 37 percent job-approval rating, down two points from January, while 48 percent said they disapprove of the job he's doing, according to the poll conducted by Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies of Annapolis.

Mr. O'Malley's support among Democrats dropped slightly from January, from 52 to 48 percent. The number of independents disapproving of his performance jumped 12 points over the same time, to 51 percent, which carries a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Mr. O'Malley made modest gains among Republican voters. Seventeen percent of Republicans approved of the governor's job performance, while 69 percent disapproved. In January, 14 percent of Republicans approved of Mr. O'Malley's work, while 78 percent disapproved.

Mr. O'Malley's support dropped sharply after he announced plans to raise $1.4 billion in new taxes during November's special session of the General Assembly. Last March, 52 percent of Marylanders approved of Mr. O'Malley, compared with 21 percent who said they disapproved.

"To bounce back, you either need a lot of time where things are OK, or you need some good news," said Laslo Boyd, partner at Gonzales Marketing and Research. "Right now, there isn't much of either."

The poll of 807 registered voters surveyed from Feb. 23 through March 1 found that 23 percent of Marylanders said they were most concerned with the national economy, followed by 20 percent who said they were most concerned about taxes.

"I think the thing that jumps out is, the economy is very significant, being the No. 1 unprompted issue for people," Mr. Boyd said. "Our polls have almost always shown education or health care being the No. 1 issue."

[JZelle]

The sad part is Cuffy's a shoe-in for re-election should he run again.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The Dems are starting to rue the day they emoted for O'Malley back in 2006. There will be imminent rueage...imminent rueage! </obscure reference>

Maryland "Freak State" PING!