Concerns over the state of the economy loom large in Mainers’ minds, and there are significant partisan gaps when it comes to the state’s direction and approval of its elected officials, according to a new statewide survey.
The Voice of Maine: Critical Insights on Maine Fall 2024 report, conducted by Digital Research, asked Mainers their opinions of several political figures, as well as on their outlook for the state and nation.
Respondents were also asked to identify the most important issues facing Maine today, revealing that economic-related concerns — such as housing, the cost of living, and inflation — are top-of-mind for the vast majority of Mainers, accounting for over 60 percent of responses when taken together.
The report goes on to explain that Democrats are statistically more concerned about housing and the environment, while Republicans were significantly more worried about inflation and the economy in general.
[RELATED: Maine Homes Nearly 9% More Expensive Than in 2023 — Maine Association of Realtors]
Unenrolled voters were the most likely demographic to cite the state’s aging population as a chief concern and were nearly equally as likely as Republicans to point toward immigration.
Despite frequently citing economic-related concerns, Mainers are becoming increasingly optimistic about the future of the economy. That said, Democrats are twice as likely as Republicans to feel this way and significantly more likely than unenrolled voters.
[RELATED: Nearly 60% of Mainers Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities — Pine Tree State Poll]
This gap is reflective of that which was found in an August Pine Tree State Poll, a States of Opinion Project conducted by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Survey Center.
Nearly half of Mainers have reported in that survey that their household was in a worse financial condition compared to the same time last year — including 62 percent of Independents and 86 percent of Republicans. The same was said, however, by just 15 percent of Maine Democrats.
According to this study, Mainers are evenly divided with respect to whether the state is on the right or wrong track.
According to the analysis provided by Digital Research, educational attainment is closely related to the likelihood of having a favorable outlook on the state’s direction, with a high level of education correlating with a high chance of believing the state is on the right track.
Other notable subsets of the voting population who are most likely to feel that the state is going in the right direction are Democrats at 60 percent, those over the age of 65 at 50 percent, voters making over $75,000 annually at 46 percent, and those living in District 1 at 42 percent.
When asked if the state is on the “wrong track,” 66 percent of Republicans agreed with this sentiment, compared to just 17 percent of Democrats.
Mainers are even more pessimistic about the direction of the nation, with 52 percent indicating that it is on the wrong track and just 22 percent feeling that it is going in the right direction.
While over 80 percent of Republicans believe the nation is going in the wrong direction, just 28 percent of Democrats feel the same way.
Exactly half of Mainers surveyed for this study expressed approval for Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) job performance, including 76 percent of Democrats and just 20 percent of Republicans.
[RELATED: More Than 40% of Mainers Say State is on the Wrong Track — Pine Tree State Poll]
There is also a noticeable approval gap between Mainers in the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts, with a 58 percent approval rating in southern part of the state and a 42 percent approval rating in the north.
Sen. Angus King (I) — who is up for reelection this year and running against Democrat David Costello, Republican Demi Kouzounas, and Independent Jason Cherry — was found to have an approval rating of 53 percent.
[RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Casting Your Ballot in the Upcoming Election]
As is the case for Gov. Mills, Sen. King was found to be significantly more popular among Democrats than Republicans, with an approval rating of 71 percent and 29 percent respectively.
The report also notes that King polled well among women, older Mainers, college-educated voters, and those in higher-income households.
Mainers appear to be more closely divided with respect to Sen. Susan Collins (R), who is not up for reelection this cycle.
According to this survey, 42 percent of Mainers disapprove of Sen. Collins’ performance in office, compared to just 37 percent who approve.
Twenty-nine percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Republicans, and 38 percent of unenrolled voters indicated approval of Collins.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) — running for reelection in the 1st Congressional District against Republican Ronald C. Russell, and Independent Ethan Alcorn — has a similar approval rating to Collins but with the partisan divisions reversed.
Fifty-eight percent of Democrats in the first district expressed approval of Rep. Pingree, compared to 20 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of unenrolled voters.
Interestingly, the report states that nearly half of District 1 voters say they “don’t know” how to rate Pingree’s job performance.
Rep. Jared Golden (D) — running against State Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) in an extremely tight race for the 2nd District’s seat in the House of Representatives — is more heavily disapproved than approved, with a job approval rating of just 34 percent.
As for Pingree, Democrats are far more likely to approve of Rep. Golden’s performance in office with a 57 percent approval rating, compared to just 19 percent of Republicans and 26 percent of unenrolled voters.
Again similar to Pingree, 39 percent of District 2 voters are unsure how to rate Golden’s performance in office.
Click Here to Read the Full Report
This is the one time the baby should be thrown out with the bath water. What do you say folks, let’s start from scratch. Time to let these bastards know they work for us.
Democrat voters are STILL waiting for the govt to give them handouts
They haven’t woken up to the fact that all the money the govt spends is not someone else’s, it’s theirs too.
smh
Democrats always want to trash things, and janet mills trashed our economy.
the democrates just want to control us through taxes and more regulations.
We know what is best for us.
Mills destroyed Maine’s economy and if it wasn’t for Bidum’s handouts we’d be shipwrecked! During the fakedemic Mills destroyed the lives of nurses and doctors that didn’t walk the line of fake science. And during that same time her lockdown ruined thousands of small businesses many generations old! We have lifelong Mainers moving out because they can’t take the oppressive government that’s been enacted by total democrat control. We have illegal chinese drug cartel grow sites that the state police don’t do anything about, making it look like they are nothing more than mills security force to keep Mainers in line. Then you have Maine education rated 51st in the country while the leftist loons the run MDOE push every leftist ding-a-ling idea but not legitimate education. Yeah were doing great, if you’re stupid, or a democrat!