Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s approval rating dipped below 50% for the first time since he took office three years ago, and more than half of Marylanders say the state is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new poll by the UMBC Institute of Politics. Just less than half of Marylande rs (48%) approve of the job Moore is doing as governor. Meanwhile, 42% disapprove and 9% don’t know. The governor’s rating decline comes after he received a 52% approval rating in UMBC’s October 2025 poll, 52% again before that in February 2025, and 54% in October 2024. Those residents who do approve of Moore’s job performance listed various reasons for their support. The top reason, described by 20% of supporters, was the governor’s handling of Maryland’s economy, jobs, affordability, or crises. Other reasons included Moore’s leadership, character, integrity, or personal like (18%); a belief that he cares about or works hard for Maryland residents (17%); and his standing up to President Donald Trump or protecting Maryland from the federal government (16%). Of the governor’s detractors, 27% described raised taxes and fees as their reasons for disapproving Moore’s job. Those in the “disapprove” camp also listed Moore’s poor leadership, dishonesty, or personal dislike (24%); fiscal mismanagement, state budget deficit, or too much spending (14%); and cost of living increases, including utility bills (12%). Many of these sentiments were echoed in the results of the UMBC poll released Tuesday, which found cost of living, affordability, and prices to be top concerns for Marylanders. Nearly three in five Maryland adults (59%) said the state is on the wrong track, while less than one-third (30%) say it is heading in the right direction. That gap has widened considerably since UMBC’s last poll on the subject in October 2025, when 48% of respondents said the state is heading in the wrong direction and 40% said it is on the right track. More than three-fourths (76%) of Marylanders described the state’s economic conditions as whether “poor” or “fair.” Meanwhile, only 22% said it was “good” or “excellent.” Again, the divide has grown since last October, when 69% of residents said the state’s economic conditions were “poor” or “fair,” and 30% described them as “good” or “excellent.” Maryland’s economic conditions are about the same as the rest of the country, according to 45% of respondents to the new UMBC poll. Meanwhile, 29% said Marylanders are worse off than their countrymen elsewhere, and 22% said economic conditions here are better than the rest of the nation. Just over half (53%) of Marylanders said they trust their neighbors “just about always” or “most of the time.” When it comes to the two major political parties, far fewer respondents had that same level of trust: 30% said they trust the Democratic Party “just about always” or “most of the time,” and only 20% had that amount of trust for the Republican Party. Respondents trusted the federal government least often (15%). Meanwhile, the percentage of residents who had trust “just about always” or “most of the time” for the state government was 27%, and 29% for their local government. “Attitudes toward the direction of the state and economic conditions have noticeably worsened since the fall, and residents express low levels of trust in all levels of government and both major political parties,” said Mileah Kromer, Director of the UMBC Institute of Politics. “These are exactly the kinds of conditions that erode gubernatorial approval ratings, and our polling reflects that reality. The gap between those who approve and disapprove of Gov. Moore’s job performance has narrowed over time, though he remains above water.” Pollsters surveyed 804 Maryland adults, including 731 Maryland registered voters, by phone from March 17 to March 22. There is a 95% probability that the sample of 804 Maryland adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%, and that the sample of 731 Maryland registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6%. ...read more read less