Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, is in a strong position against former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, as the two race for Maryland’s open Senate seat.
A new poll from Gonzales Research and Media Services found Alsobrooks polling 5 points ahead, with 46% of registered voters saying they would support Alsobrooks “if the election were held today,” compared to the 41% who said the same about Hogan. While 50% of those surveyed said they hold a favorable opinion of Hogan from his time as governor, only 41% said they would vote for him.
“Hogan is that unique politician whose appeal is broad and spread among the electorate rather evenly,” said Patrick E. Gonzales, the poll’s author.
“For a Republican to win statewide in Maryland, it always comes down to basic mathematics,” Gonzales continued. “Can Hogan snatch away 30% of the Democratic vote to secure victory on Nov. 5?”
Alsobrooks, however, has a lack of name recognition, according to the poll. Thirty-four percent of registered voters who were polled did not recognize her name, including 17% of Democrats.
The poll also indicated that Alsobrooks may have received a post-Democratic National Convention boost in her numbers. A poll conducted before the DNC found the race to be a dead heat, but now, she is up 5 points. At the DNC, Alsobrooks spoke on her 14-year friendship with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the pair met when Harris was the San Francisco district attorney.
For undecided voters, 72% did not recognize Alsobrooks’s name, and around 13% said they had no opinion of her.
Meanwhile, 16% of undecided voters held a favorable opinion of Hogan, and 61% said they were neutral about him. Twenty-one percent of Democrats surveyed indicated they would vote for Hogan.
As Hogan runs in a blue state, he is framing himself as an anti-Trump Republican in the mold of centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). Former President Donald Trump endorsed Hogan, but Hogan said, “I didn’t seek it, I didn’t want to have it, and I have no interest in it,” and that his campaign would not be promoting the endorsement.
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In the presidential race, 56% of voters said they would vote for Harris, while 35% indicated they would vote for Trump.
Methodology: The poll contacted 820 registered voters in Maryland who indicated they are likely to vote in the 2024 general election, and it was conducted between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.