More than 40 percent of Mainers feel that the state is currently on the wrong track — nearly 10 percent more than in April of 2022 — according to a recent Pine Tree State Poll, a States of Opinion Project conducted by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Survey Center.
A similar share of residents have also expressed disapproval of Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) job performance.
Overall, 43 percent of respondents said that they, to some degree, disapprove of Gov. Mills’ job in office, while 53 percent indicated approval.
When broken down by party, a stark divide between Republicans and Democrats emerges, with 88 percent of those on the right expressing disapproval compared to just 12 percent of those on the left.
Nearly half of Independents, however, also disapproved of Mills’ performance.
Maine men are far more likely to disapprove of Mills’ job performance than women, with 59 percent of expressing disapproval compared to just 30 percent of women.
Respondents were then asked to identify the most important factor in making them either approve or disapprove of Mills’ job performance.
For those who expressed disapproval of Mills, her “handling of immigration” (17 percent), “handling of budget/finances” (14 percent), and “handling of COVID-19” (13 percent) were reported as top concerns.
Fifteen percent of disapproving respondents cited other unnamed reasons for their lack of satisfaction with Mills’ time in office.
Among those who approve of Mills’ job performance, her “handling of COVID-19” was the most widely-noted reason at 23 percent, followed by her “handling of abortion” at 19 percent. Mills’ “handling of healthcare” came in a distant third at 8 percent.
Mainers are largely divided over whether the state is currently moving in the right or wrong direction, although far fewer are unsure of their answer to this question compared to April of 2022.
The UNH Survey Center’s most recent poll found that 47 percent of Mainers believe the state is on the right track, while 42 percent feel that it is on the wrong track. Just 11 percent weren’t sure of their answer.
In April of 2022, however, 28 percent indicated a lack of clarity as to whether or not the state was moving in the right direction.
Republicans are far more likely to think that Maine is on the wrong track in 2024, coming in at 83 percent, compared to just 9 percent of Democrats.
Independents are largely divided with roughly 41 percent indicating that the state is on the wrong track and around 42 percent saying that it is on the right track.
Coming in at 30 percent, a significant plurality of respondents said that housing is the most important issue facing Maine today.
This followed at a distant second by the cost of living at 11 percent and jobs/economy at 9 percent.
11 percent of respondents cited other unspecified problems as the most important ones facing Maine right now.
Of these three concerns, housing was most frequently noted by Democrats and Independents, while the cost of living was most commonly highlighted by Republicans.
Jobs and the economy were cited most frequently by Republicans, albeit with slightly less frequency than the cost of living.
Only 3 percent of Democrats mentioned the cost of living, and just 6 percent noted jobs and the economy.
Independents also cited jobs and the economy with low frequency but more closely mirrored the Republicans in terms of concern over the cost of living.
0 Comments