On the eve of a new year — and a new General Assembly session — Maryland voters are generally optimistic about the future, though many have jitters about inflation and crime in Baltimore. They are also looking to their government leaders for bold solutions — though it isn’t clear whether there’s the political will or the desire by taxpayers to pay for the initiatives that may be needed to move the state’s economy forward.
Those are some of the conclusions of a recent issues survey for Maryland that was taken by a Democratic pollster and commissioned by a leading Annapolis lobbying firm and a politically wired public affairs strategist.
The poll showed that many voters are comfortable in their own lives and are enthusiastic about several proposed measures that could improve Maryland’s economy and create more opportunity and equity for residents who are struggling financially.
The poll was broken into two parts, testing the opinions of 813 likely 2024 general election voters of all political persuasions, and 502 registered Baltimore City Democrats who are likely to vote in the city’s primaries next December. The statewide survey had a 3.3-point margin of error, while the Baltimore Democratic portion of the survey had a 4.4-point error margin.
The 45-question poll was paid for by the Annapolis lobbying firm Perry White Ross and Jacobson, whose senior partner is Tim Perry, a former chief of staff to the late Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D), and Blended Public Affairs, whose principal is Alexandra Hughes, a former chief of staff to House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and the late Speaker Mike Busch (D).
Both firms have an array of clients who will be closely monitoring the developments in state government in the months ahead. Perry White Ross and Jacobson is one of the top-grossing lobbying firms in the state.