Democrat Ben Jealous is struggling to close the gap in the Maryland gubernatorial race against Gov. Larry Hogan, according to a survey that shows Mr. Jealous down by double digits in the deep-blue state.
Perhaps more worrying for Mr. Jealous is that he hasn’t made up ground since winning his party’s nomination in June. He trails Mr. Hogan by 16 percentage points, 52-36, in a Gonzales Research & Media Services poll released Tuesday.
“The burden is always on the Republican in deep-blue Maryland, but the Democrat still does need some positive thrust,” pollster Patrick E. Gonzales said in a memo accompanying his firm’s survey. “If the Maryland election for governor were held today, GOP incumbent Larry Hogan would be re-elected, becoming a near Halley’s Comet-like phenomenon.”
Maryland has not re-elected a Republican governor since the 1950s and hasn’t re-elected a Republican for a statewide office in nearly 40 years, he said.
So far, Mr. Hogan looks well-positioned to make history. His job approval rating stands at 71 percent, and even the majority of Democrats like what they have seen during the governor’s first term.
The Hogan campaign said the survey shows that the overwhelming majority of state residents are confident that Maryland is headed in the right direction. Sixty-three percent agreed with that sentiment, compared with 21 percent who said they think the state is on the wrong track.
Mr. Jealous’ unfavorables, meanwhile, have increased since June, as allies of Mr. Hogan have blanketed the airwaves with attack ads denouncing the Democrat as “too extreme” for the state.
Democrats’ strategy of making the race about President Trump is not paying off. While a majority of state voters disapprove of the job Mr. Trump is doing, only about 13 percent of people not backing Mr. Jealous would consider voting for the Democrat as a way to send a message to the president.
“Trump’s negatives might ultimately help him, but only a tad,” Mr. Gonzales said.
Jealous campaign officials shrugged off the numbers and said they will focus on building up a field operation to get Democrats to the polls.
“The truth is this is a competitive race, which is why Republicans have spent more than a million dollars lying about Ben’s record,” said Jealous campaign senior adviser Kevin Harris.
The Republican Governors Association has spent about $2 million on ads so far in the race. One ad that the RGA rolled out last week calls Mr. Jealous, who is running on far-left policies such as Medicare for all, free college tuition and marijuana legalization, “too extreme” for Maryland and says his “radical, irresponsible proposals” would destroy the state’s economy.
Democrats have argued that the mere fact that Mr. Hogan and his allies are already on the air means Republicans are scared. Mr. Jealous’ campaign says it will “soon be airing a positive vision” addressing challenges in the state.
The Democratic Governors Association didn’t provide specifics Tuesday on how much the group plans to spend on the race, but a spokeswoman said Mr. Hogan is “one of the most vulnerable incumbent governors nationwide.”
“The RGA is forced to spend big to try to defend Hogan because they know his record is out of whack with the people of Maryland,” said DGA spokeswoman Melissa Miller. “The DGA will continue to work to make him a one-term wonder.”
Mr. Jealous also is getting support from national liberal figures and potential 2020 presidential contenders such as Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
“Nobody takes on more important fights, and nobody wins more battles, than my friend Ben Jealous,” Ms. Warren wrote in a fundraising pitch Tuesday for the liberal group Democracy for America, calling Mr. Jealous a “progressive champion.”
Thus far, though, Mr. Jealous hasn’t made a breakthrough in part because he simply doesn’t have the resources, said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
As of June 15, the most recent campaign finance filing deadline, Mr. Hogan had close to $10 million on hand, compared with about $380,000 for Mr. Jealous.
“Hogan has that high approval rating, a huge bank account, and has been running ads effectively trying to define Ben Jealous as someone that Marylanders just can’t trust,” Mr. Eberly said. “And the Jealous folks just don’t have the money to counter that right now.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.