Even though Republican Larry Hogan has a commanding lead in Maryland’s Senate race, a new survey suggests that the blue state’s citizens would much rather have a Democratic majority in the Senate.
In a hypothetical general election contest, Hogan defeated both probable Democratic opponents by double digits, according to a poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland. The moderate Republican had a slim lead over Representative David Trone (49–37%) and County Executive Angela Alsobrooks of Prince George’s County (50–36%).
The poll, which questioned 1,004 registered voters in Maryland from March 5-12, did find that 55% of voters like Democrats controlling the Senate, while 35% favour Republicans. According to that outcome, Hogan may have more obstacles on his road to success than what the results of the candidate-versus-candidate survey suggest.
The former governor’s tremendous name recognition in the state has helped propel him to an unexpected entry into the contest last month. Hogan was well-liked by Democrats and Republicans alike due to his reputation for collaboration throughout his two years as governor, despite the fact that registered Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans.
Voters had a more positive impression of Hogan (64%, including 61% of registered Democrats) than they did of Trone (33% vs. 26%) or Alsobrooks (64%). Nearly half of voters (46%) and more than half (58%) did not have an opinion about Trone or Alsobrooks.
On May 14, voters will go to the polls for the Republican primary, where Hogan is projected to easily prevail, and the Democratic primary, where Trone and Alsobrooks will engage in a close contest. Trone edged Alsobrooks by a narrow margin of 34% to 27% among Democrats who had already cast their ballots, with 39% still on the fence.
The survey was possible within a 3.3 percentage point margin of error due to its mixed-method design (online and via phone).