By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Maryland voters’ approval of Vice President Kamala Harris (D), Democratic presidential nominee, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) have increased since February.
According to a poll released on Sept. 3 by Gonzales Research and Media Services, Marylanders approve of Harris’ job in the White House by 55 percent and Moore’s job as governor by 64 percent. In a February poll by Gonzales, Harris had around 46 percent approval and Moore had 58 percent.
In comparison, Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, has a 57 percent disapproval rating for his job in the White House. About 42 percent of Marylanders approve of Trump’s work as president.
Pollster Patrick Gonzales said he believes Harris’ approval ratings are up in Maryland, because “she had an excellent convention in Chicago.”
The poll was conducted on Aug. 24-30, days after Harris and Moore’s televised speeches at the vibrant 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Gonzales continued saying “the events of the last seven to eight weeks,” including President Joe Biden (D) dropping out of the presidential race, led Maryland voters to support her.
Gonzales said he felt that Moore’s primetime speech at the convention has much to do with his approval increase as well. He also credited Moore’s success to his handling of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on March 26.
Moore spent weeks in Baltimore working with federal, state and local officials to recover the six workers who died, reopen the Port of Baltimore and support those impacted by the tragic incident. Through that work, the port was reopened in 11 weeks.
Though Moore’s ratings have risen, recent scrutiny could have produced different results.
Moore apologized on Aug. 29 for inaccurately stating that he received a military Bronze Star Medal on a White House application.
“I sincerely wish I had gone back to correct the note on my application,” said Moore in a statement. “It was an honest mistake, and I regret not making that correction.”
The AFRO reached out to the governor’s office for comment but did not receive a timely response.
The Gonzales poll found that if the election was held today 56 percent of Maryland voters would choose Harris, while 35 percent would vote for Trump.
Gonzales’ report acknowledges that voters’ preference for Democrat candidates makes sense for the heavily Blue state.
According to the poll, 81 percent of Democrats, 44 percent of independents and 10 percent of Republicans approve of Harris.
For Moore, 82 percent of Democrats, 52 percent of independents and 35 percent of Republicans approved of him.
Poll results show that Harris and Moore largely have the approval of Black Maryland voters.
About 88 percent of African Americans approve of Moore, while only 2 percent disapprove. About 84 percent of Black Marylanders approve of Harris, while 8 percent disapprove.
Gonzales noted that Moore’s high results can provide him with stronger “political capital,” policy-making power. Gonzales provided an example of how this influence works.
“If I was the governor of Maryland and I walked into a room trying to execute this big deal the same day a poll came out that showed my approval was at 30 percent, I would have a much more difficult time than if I walked into that room on a day when my approval came out at 65 percent,” he said.
About 820 registered voters, who said they are likely to vote in the general election, were polled via live phone interviews for the poll.
The Gonzales poll also addresses what Marylanders find important.
According to poll results, 58 percent of Maryland voters prefer strict laws that hold juveniles accountable for their actions, while 34 percent favor lenient laws.
Overwhelmingly, 95 percent of Marylanders surveyed believe it is important for the state to invest in transportation infrastructure. About 61 percent find it “very” important and 34 percent find it “somewhat” important.