Simply 27 p.c polled by the College of Maryland, Baltimore County, labeled redistricting a prime problem, trailing far behind the price of well being care (77 p.c), the standard of Ok-12 training (75 p.c) and lowering crime (73 p.c).
The survey comes as lawmakers within the Outdated Line State grapple over whether or not to push ahead an effort to redraw congressional traces to offer Democrats an opportunity to flip the state’s lone Republican-held seat. Maryland lawmakers are slated to convene for a particular legislative session on Tuesday, although they made clear redistricting won’t be on the agenda.
An analogous push Trump championed in Indiana would have eradicated as much as two Democratic-held seats; it was soundly rejected by that state’s Republican-led state Senate final week in a pointy rebuke of the president by members of his personal occasion. Their opposition additionally relieved strain mounting in some blue states, together with Maryland, for state lawmakers to forge forward with their gerrymandering counteroffensive.
For a number of months, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a probable 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful, has been urging lawmakers to contemplate redesigning the state’s maps, however has been stymied by state Senate President Invoice Ferguson, a fellow Democrat who thinks the transfer may jeopardize the power of Maryland Democrats’ congressional dominance. Democrats management seven of the state’s eight congressional seats.
“This is not a huge priority for Maryland voters,” Mileah Kromer, the director of the college’s Institute of Politics, which performed the survey, mentioned. “Perhaps one of the reasons it hasn’t really caught on as a major priority is because over the last year, Maryland voters continue to express concerns about the economic situation in the state.”
Earlier this 12 months, state lawmakers handed measures elevating taxes and charges by $1.6 billion — and are bracing for lingering unfavorable repercussions from the longest federal authorities shutdown in U.S. historical past.
The survey of 801 Maryland adults, nearly all of whom have been registered voters, discovered 28 p.c of respondents mentioned the Maryland congressional traces have been drawn pretty, in comparison with 41 p.c who mentioned they have been drawn unfairly. Twenty-nine p.c didn’t have an opinion.
When damaged down by occasion affiliation, responses present variance in opinion over how Maryland’s maps are at the moment drawn and whether or not mid-decade redistricting needs to be taken up by the state legislature forward of the 2026 midterms, with management of Congress at stake.
Amongst Democrats, 37 p.c mentioned the state’s congressional maps are drawn pretty. And among the many majority who imagine in any other case, 18 p.c mentioned the traces favor Democrats and 10 p.c mentioned they favor Republicans.
Simply 17 p.c of Republicans surveyed mentioned Maryland’s congressional traces are drawn pretty. Amongst those that view the state’s maps as unfair, 63 p.c mentioned the traces favor Democrats, whereas simply 3 p.c contend they favor Republicans.
Whereas excessive numbers of each events mentioned they have been paying a minimum of some consideration to the redistricting debate — 61 p.c of Democrats; 71 p.c of Republicans — their views of what to do about it additionally broke alongside occasion traces.
Maryland Democrats’ views of mid-cycle redistricting confirmed that just about an equal share mentioned they don’t prefer it and it shouldn’t be accomplished — 25 p.c — in comparison with 28 p.c who mentioned they don’t prefer it however imagine it’s essential. Simply 6 p.c of Democrats help it however assume it’s the unsuitable factor to do, in comparison with 32 p.c who mentioned they prefer it and mid-decade redistricting needs to be accomplished.
Amongst Republicans, 67 p.c mentioned they don’t prefer it and mid-decade redistricting shouldn’t be accomplished in comparison with 9 p.c who take into account it essential. Fewer than 10 p.c of Maryland Republicans mentioned they prefer it, but it surely’s the unsuitable factor to do or that they prefer it and lawmakers ought to transfer ahead with it.
The ballot was funded by the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences on the college. It was performed between Dec. 2 and 6 and has a 3.5 p.c margin of error.
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