Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, is either tied with or leads his prospective Democratic opponents in deep-blue Maryland, according to a new poll.
The Emerson College Poll released Thursday shows Mr. Hogan tied with Rep. David Trone, Maryland Democrat, at 42%, with 16% of poll participants undecided.
However, the other hypothetical match-up between Mr. Hogan and Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks indicated the two-term governor has the upper hand, with 44% compared to Ms. Alsobrooks’ 37%. In that matchup, 19% of polled voters were undecided.
“In addition to the majority of Republican voters’ support in the general election, Hogan also holds broad appeal in a matchup against Trone among independents, at 48%, and also garners nearly a quarter of Democratic voters’ support,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in a statement.
He said, “In a matchup between Hogan and Alsobrooks, independents support Hogan 43% to 18%, and 31% of Democrats support Hogan.”
Mr. Hogan’s performance in the poll comes just days after he announced his candidacy in the race to replace Maryland’s longtime Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring. The GOP candidate was popular in during his two terms as governor, leaving office last year with a 77% approval rating.
The poll also showed that while Mr. Hogan has a competitive race ahead, President Biden and former President Donald Trump’s likely rematch shows the incumbent with a dominating lead over his top political opponent — 55% of voters favored Mr. Biden compared to 32% who supported Mr. Trump, while 13% remained undecided.
But the poll noted that while Mr. Trump’s performance is roughly the same in Maryland as in 2020, Mr. Biden is underperforming by about 10 points. If tossing in a third-party candidate, like independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Mr. Biden’s support dwindles to 47%.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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