Gov. Wes Moore can use all the support he can get as he tries to push through his legislative agenda with the Maryland General Assembly getting back to work Wednesday.
A new poll found Moore’s approval rating has dropped from his all-time high of 64% down to 52%.
The poll, conducted by Patrick Gonzales of Gonzales Research and Media, found 52% of voters approve of the job Moore is doing as governor, 41% disapprove and 7% offer no opinion.
Gonzales said despite the converging of the approve and disapprove lines, Moore remains in a strong position.
“This is Maryland,” Gonzales told WTOP. “A Democrat at 52% approval on election day is not going to lose.”
The poll found that if the election was held today, 50% of Marylanders would vote to reelect Moore, 28% said they would vote for a Republican challenger, 6% opt for a third-party candidate and 16% were undecided.
Gonzales said on the reelection question and most of the four questions posed in the poll, partisanship predictably defined the contest.
Democrats heavily back Moore, and 76% said they would vote to reelect him with just 2% crossing over for a GOP challenger. Republicans show the mirror image with 81% throwing their support behind the party’s nominee, and just 6% saying they would go with Moore.
According to the poll, 47% think the state is moving in the right direction, while 44% believe that the state is headed the wrong way.
Gonzales called that “a narrow, uneasy balance that signals neither broad confidence nor outright pessimism.”
The final question of the poll asked people about taxes.
“A clear majority – 58%, say that they and their family pay too much in taxes, while virtually no one thinks they pay too little in taxes, with 41% of Marylanders believing their tax burden is about right,” Gonzales said.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 21, 2025, through Jan. 6. A total of 808 registered voters in Maryland, who indicated they are likely to vote in the 2026 general election, were queried by live telephone interviews. The margin of error is a range of plus or minus 3.5% points.
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