Is Larry Hogan the right man for the job? According to a recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll of 1,004 registered voters, the answer is a resounding yes.
The March 5-12 survey shows Hogan, a former governor, with a substantial lead over his Democratic counterparts in the race for the seat being vacated by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
Hogan leads Maryland Rep. David Trone by 12-points in a head-to-head contest. Against Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Hogan leads by 14-points. (RELATED: Biden Delivers Loathsome Response To Trump Report)
Though Maryland has sent business-friendly, socially moderate Republicans to the governor's mansion, federal offices are dominated by progressive Democrats.
The Washington Post reports:
Hogan's surprise entrance into the race last month upended what had been largely seen as a contest between Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D). The Post-UMD poll finds that if the general election were held today, voters say they would support Hogan over Trone, 49 percent to 37 percent; and Hogan over Alsobrooks, 50 percent to 36 percent.
The poll finds Trone with a narrow lead in the primary race for the reliably blue seat vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.): 34 percent of registered Democrats support Trone while 27 percent prefer Alsobrooks. The primary race remains wide open despite Trone's spending of more than $23 million to Alsobrooks's $2 million. Nearly 4 in 10 Democratic voters — 39 percent — haven't yet picked a primary candidate.
The national attention Hogan drew to what had been a sleepy competition prompted Democrats to cast the May 14 primary race as a question of who could better help the Democratic Party control the U.S. Senate. The messaging could make it harder for Hogan to build the cross-party coalition of Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats that had delivered him statewide victories before.
“The big issue for the Democrats right now is that many people in the state don't know who either of these candidates are,” said Michael Hanmer, a University of Maryland political science professor and director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement,which conducted the poll with The Post.
The poll shows that 55% of Maryland voters want Democrats to be in control of the Senate, while 35% prefer Republicans. The poll also found that a clear majority of voters affiliated with both parties approved of the job Hogan did as governor.
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