Posted on 08/13/25
| News Source: FOX45
Annapolis, MD - Aug. 13, 2025 - Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s job performance numbers continue to sink further in the latest polling data published by Democratic-aligned lobby and advocacy groups in the state.
Survey results show that only 50% of respondents believe Moore’s performance as Maryland’s governor has been at least good or excellent.
The poll also showed that 42% of the 1,256 respondents rated Moore’s time in office as “not so good” or “poor.” The remaining 8% said they were unsure about the governor’s performance.
The Maryland Now poll, conducted in late July in partnership with strategic messaging group Blended Public Affairs and lobbying powerhouse Perry Jacobson, shows a continued trend since the start of 2025 that Moore's approval rating is declining.
The latest results follow a Gonzales Research and Media poll from March that showed Moore with a 55% job approval rating. The March results represented a 19 percentage point positive swing from a similar survey conducted by the same polling company in January, at the start of the state’s 90-day legislative session.
Moore’s office did not acknowledge or reply to Spotlight on Maryland’s question sent on Tuesday regarding the governor’s thoughts on his latest poll numbers. Meanwhile, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) told Spotlight on Maryland that Moore is “fighting every day for Maryland.”
“This is silly,” said Kevin Donohoe, a DGA spokesperson. “Just a few weeks ago, another survey showed the governor overwhelmingly popular with Marylanders, with an approval of 60 percent.”
Donohoe added that the “numbers that actually matter” are the jobs Moore has created, unemployment being “way down,” and a decrease in Baltimore's murder numbers.
Doug Mayer, a former communications director for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and a Republican strategist, told Spotlight on Maryland on Tuesday afternoon that he feels Moore’s polling numbers reflect his governorship.
Wes Moore’s poll numbers are anemic because his governorship is anemic,” Mayer said. “All smiles and no action, with the Moore administration.”
“It’s not 'what have they done for us lately,' it’s 'what have they ever done for us other than raise taxes, of course,'” Mayer added.
Spotlight on Maryland asked several Maryland Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday for their reactions to the poll results showing Moore’s decline. Most Democratic legislators were reluctant to comment publicly, while others did not respond to requests. Del. Caylin Young, D-Baltimore City, was the only one who responded to the requests, saying he believed the poll results indicated Marylanders still support Moore.
“Leadership includes difficult decisions that impact popularity,” Young said. “I think the governor is still well-positioned to maintain the support of the voters needed to continue to lead our state.”
Hogan, a Republican, posted on X on Monday, shortly after the Maryland Now poll started circulating, showing results from Ragnar Research Associates' poll in May 2025. The Ragnar poll showed Hogan had a 76% job approval rating from his previous tenure as governor, with only 15% disapproving.
Ragner asked respondents to the Hogan poll if they "overall, would say' they 'approve or disapprove of the job that Larry Hogan had previously done" as Maryland's governor.
Moore, a political newcomer to Maryland, has argued that he inherited a structural deficit from Hogan. The governor has repeatedly claimed that the state’s structural deficit was covered by a one-time influx of COVID aid from the federal government.
The nonpartisan Maryland Department of Legislative Services (MDLS) published a different narrative of its fiscal outlook in 2022, following Hogan's signing of his final budget before leaving office.
"In fiscal 2023, ongoing revenues exceed ongoing spending by $276 million,” MDLS wrote in 2022. “This structural surplus grows in every year but fiscal 2026 and is projected to reach $729 million by fiscal 2027.”
Despite efforts by the Maryland General Assembly and Moore to reduce a historic $3.3 billion deficit for fiscal year 2026 through a combination of tax and fee hikes, along with spending cuts, a structural deficit will reappear next year.
By fiscal year 2028, the first budget after the midterm elections, Maryland’s structural deficit will grow to $1.9 billion.
Del. Matt Morgan, R-St. Mary’s County, chairman of the right-leaning Maryland House Freedom Caucus, said Moore’s polling numbers might be declining for a myriad of reasons.
I think those numbers are actually kind of high, given the job performance of what we’ve had,” Morgan said. “He has raised over $1.6 billion worth of taxes, and people are starting to feel it.”
The Maryland Now poll shows that 67% of those surveyed believe they are paying too much in state taxes. This aligns with the poll also showing that 54% view Maryland’s economy negatively.
59% of those surveyed blame President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for Maryland’s economic issues, while only 25% blame Moore and Democrats in Maryland.
The poll also asked respondents to rank how important they believed different factors contributed to “skyrocketing” energy prices in Maryland. They rated “a lack of in-state generation forces Maryland to import energy, leading to higher prices” as the most significant among the options, with an average score of 7.2, where zero means not important at all and ten means very important.
Respondents also gave an average rating of 6.9 to both “Maryland’s electric transmission grid is insufficient to meet growing demand” and “Maryland’s elected leaders and appointed regulators have failed to plan for more extreme weather and growing demand,” the poll results show.
"[The poll results] show that the general public has become aware of the state’s energy problem,” said Maryland Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready, R-Carroll and Frederick Counties. “The governor and the Democratic majority have kept blundering down the road of putting all our eggs in the solar and wind basket for new electricity generation and have done nothing to protect and stimulate growth in reliable sources of energy like natural gas and coal.”
Pollster Donna Victoria, director of research for Blended Public Affairs, played a key role in compiling the poll results. Blended Public Affairs was founded and is led by Alexandra Hughes, who served as a chief of staff for 13 years to former Maryland House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel County, until his passing in 2019.
The seasoned Maryland Democratic strategist also served as the same aide for Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Baltimore County, before resigning at the end of 2021.
Hughes coordinated multiple media appearances for Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) last year during the company’s initial public meetings about the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. The Piedmont Project is a 90-mile high-voltage power line proposal intended to pass through Baltimore, Carroll, and Frederick Counties.
Blended Public Affairs also acts as a consultant for US Wind, an Italy-based company aiming to build 114 wind turbines along the coastal shelf outside of the Town of Ocean City, Md.
Perry Jacobson, a lobbying firm that prominently features pictures of Moore on its website, has received $405,000 in lobbyist compensation since 2023, according to Maryland lobbying records. PSEG has paid the firm $312,000 since 2020.
Blended Public Affairs and Perry Jacobson did not reply to Spotlight on Maryland’s email regarding the poll.
Demographic data from the poll showed that 56% of respondents identified as female. 32% of those surveyed reported having completed a postgraduate degree or similar work, while 35% said they identified as either liberal or progressive.
According to the poll’s methodology, the results were weighted by age, region, and race to accurately represent the makeup of the expected 2026 Maryland voting population.