While Maryland voters say the economy is a top issue in the election, they also say they are more optimistic about it now than they were in early June, according to a recent phone poll by Goucher College. About 55% of Democrats told pollsters they had a rosier outlook on the economy – up from 47% in June – while 28% of Republicans had a positive view. That was up from 20% in June.
The poll, which queried 1,008 adults in Maryland, was funded and co-sponsored by the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College, WYPR and The Baltimore Banner.
About 24% of Democrats said they had major financial hardship from inflation compared to 37% of Republicans.
The consumer price index in the Baltimore metro area was up 10.2% in August compared to last year but the pace of inflation has slowed somewhat with less than 1% increase between July and August. Gas prices have dropped from a 52-week high of $5 per gallon in June to roughly $3.45 across Maryland.
The unemployment rate in Maryland was 4.2% in July, down from 6.1% one year ago. More than 520,600 residents are government workers out of 2 million adults statewide.
Democrat Caroline Berry, who works for the federal government and lives in Baltimore City, says she’s optimistic about the economy.
“The federal workforce, you know, really does benefit the area, and we have a lot of growth within jobs that, you know, just seems to be growing,” Berry said. “All my friends are, you know, gainfully employed. And when they do leave a job, they are able to find jobs, you know, pretty, pretty easily. Also, you know, the, you know, the economy seems to be doing a little bit better in response to, you know, the inflation and housing market and stuff like that.”
By contrast, Queen Anne’s County Republican Rob Enders, is concerned about supply chain issues and the effect of student debt forgiveness.
“I think that government overspending is exacerbating the inflationary pressures, causing markets and other issues within the economy in a negative way,” Enders said.
But in general, demand for the printing business he works for has been strong, he said.
“We have probably more work than we can handle,” he said.
Residents of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties were more likely to have a positive view of the economy than those in the Baltimore region – 54% to 44% – or those in rural communities of Western and Southern Maryland or the Eastern Shore, where 33% said they had a positive view.
Read the full poll results here.
