Poll finds support for $15 minimum wage, legalizing marijuana, banning Styrofoam and aiding the terminally ill in dying

MarylandReporter.com

Maryland voters in November re-elected a Republican governor for only a second time in history, but they also elected a Democratic legislature that has moved further to the left.

A new Goucher College poll taken earlier this month found broad support among Maryland adults for some of the top policy initiatives by Democrats that are not on Gov. Larry Hogan’s wish list.

• 67% support raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and 30% oppose it. These results show even higher support for the $15 minimum than in a January poll taken for MarylandReporter.com.
• 66% support raising the minimum age for the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products and 31% oppose it.
• 57% support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and 37% oppose it.
• 63% support a statewide ban on Styrofoam products such as food containers, plates, and cups and 31% oppose it.
• 62% support the proposed “aid-in-dying” bill and 31% oppose it.

Respondents were also asked whether the state government spends too little, about the right amount, or too much on public education.

Too little: 64%

About the right amount: 24%

Too much: 7%

“The Democrats in the General Assembly have laid out a robust set of policy proposals this legislative session,” said pollster Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. “Our poll results suggest that much of their agenda is popular with the general public. Some of these issues, however, are contentious and will face formidable opposition from organized interests on their way to an uncertain fate at Gov. Hogan’s desk.”

The poll also questioned about race relations and racial justice.

The poll surveyed 808 Maryland adults from Feb. 7 to 12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4%. Here are the full results of the poll.