Wes Moore’s approval rating ranks him third among US governors as Maryland faces fiscal challenges

A new survey found that Gov. Wes Moore’s 65% approval rating among Marylanders makes him America’s third most popular governor.

“His star has shot out like a comet,” said Roger Hartley, the dean of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs. “To this quickly ascend on the national scene is really, really impressive” — especially to have never held public office.

The poll, released by Morning Consult Pro, found that Moore, a Democrat who is halfway through his first term as governor, ranked behind Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat with a 67% approval rating, and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican with an approval rating of 81%.

Hartley attributes Moore’s success, in part, to what he called the governor’s “personal style,” the tendency that he has to talk to individuals in a crowd as if no one else is in the room. Hartley also said Moore has done a  “remarkable job” of meeting with people from across the state, and is unafraid to talk to people on the other side of the aisle, which Hartley said “makes him quite likable.”

Though Moore is only in his second year in office, his administration has been marked by his close relationship with the White House and President Joe Biden, and his response to the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March .

“I think most everyone has judged his response to crisis to be a plus here,” Hartley said, noting that the governor was immediately at the scene, and was empathetic but swiftly took the reins as a leader.

Moore’s predecessor, Larry Hogan, a popular two-term governor and the Republican nominee to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin upon his retirement, left office with a 77% approval rating, according to a Gonzales Maryland Poll.

Hartley also attributed Hogan’s popularity rate to personal style. Hogan was “very, very warm and personable, ” Hartley said, “and people could relate to him of all different walks of life.”

There has been criticism that, once he reached a high popularity rating, Hogan cruised through the remainder of his time as governor without taking significant action.

Todd Eberly, a professor of political science and public policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, rejects that notion, noting that Hogan often butted heads with the Maryland General Assembly and was unafraid to veto its bills — though those vetoes more often than not were overridden.

Despite attacking each other on the campaign trail — though Moore never calls out Hogan by name — Maryland’s last two governors have their similarities.

“One thing that Moore and Hogan have in common is they both speak the language of bipartisanship and moving together,” Eberly said.

Eberly also thinks that, like Hogan, he couldn’t see Moore coasting through his term now that he’s achieved such a high popularity rating.

“I don’t see Wes Moore as the kind of person who would say, ‘Hey, I’m popular now and I’m going to just let it ride,” Eberly said, noting that Moore has things he wants to get done without the concern of popularity.

It could be difficult for Moore to reach Hogan’s 77% approval rate.

According to Hartley, Hogan and his team did a remarkable job with Republicans “which is a pretty immovable base,” but his ability to capture the excitement of independents and Democrats was attributed “to being able to use the extremism in his party as a foil.”

Hogan never hesitated to criticize former conservative Republicans and former President Donald Trump. Hartley said that allowed him to be as conservative as he wanted and have his constituents think he was being reasonable.

But Moore’s personal style, which Hartley said would allow him to trade his popularity for the power to persuade, has the potential to be presidential .

“Gov. Moore has that talent,” he said.

Forthcoming policy decisions could also prove to be tricky for his presidential popularity.

“Moore is seen as a rising star in the party, but Maryland, as we know, is looking at difficult fiscal times,” Eberly said.

Earlier this month, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved $148.3 million in cuts from the recently enacted budget Moore proposed in the face of financial shortfalls the state has been anticipating for years.

At the meeting where the cuts were approved, Moore acknowledged that those cuts, which equate to only about 0.2% of the state’s current $63 billion budget, will not solve all of the state’s fiscal woes.

“At some point in the very near future, a choice is going to have to be made between raising taxes and cutting spending,” Eberly said, “and they’re never popular, but he’s going to be faced with that decision.”