Maryland voters are giving Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley low marks for not holding down taxes, creating jobs or managing the state budget effectively in a new poll that shows only 39 percent of voters want to see him re-elected next year.
The poll by the nonpartisan Clarus Research Group put O’Malley’s approval rating at 48 percent, five points lower than where a Washington Post poll pegged his approval rating in October 2008.
The poll also shows that given a choice between O’Malley and former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich, voters would choose O’Malley by roughly the same 6.5 percent margin they did in the 2006 election.
Ehrlich, who is mulling a potential 2010 challenge to O’Malley, said he was “pretty pleased with the numbers.”
“It’s not a bad spread in the head to head: We’ve been gone for three years and not campaigning,” Ehrlich said.
The poll was conducted just before Tuesday’s elections, which saw Republican gubernatorial candidates win in Virginia and New Jersey on platforms of lower taxes and creating jobs — two areas where only about a third of voters approve of O’Malley’s performance in the new poll.
“It’s a tough time to be governor,” said Ron Faucheux, president of Clarus. “The economic discontent in the country, and in Maryland in particular, is strong.”
But former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan said O’Malley’s lack of leadership and vision is what’s ultimately responsible for his low levels of support in a heavily Democratic state.
“His numbers reflect his performance; he’s in over his head,” said Duncan, who ran against O’Malley in the 2006 Democratic primary.
Duncan said the current economic and political climate is similar to the mood in 1994, when Republican Ellen Sauerbrey lost to Democrat Parris Glendening by only 5,993 votes.
Duncan said he expects O’Malley to face a “serious” Democratic challenger in the next primary contest, though he wouldn’t say if he is planning another run.
O’Malley’s spokesman, Shaun Adamec, shrugged off the poll and said the governor shares the same frustrations with the economy as upset voters do.
“This is one of the most challenging economies of our lifetime, and the governor is concentrating on being governor,” Adamec said.
O’Malley has had to make several unpopular decisions this year to help bridge more than a $700 million budget gap, including furloughing employees and cutting aid to local governments.
