A Thursday poll indicates that the race for Maryland’s open Senate seat just got more competitive after former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan launched a surprise campaign last week.
After previously ruling out both a presidential and Senate run in 2023, Hogan announced on Friday that he’d be seeking retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin’s seat in 2024. Hogan is tied with Democratic Rep. David Trone at 42%, and is leading Democratic County Executive Angela Alsobrooks by seven points for potential general election matchups, according to an Emerson College poll.
Hogan also received 48% support among independents in a head-to-head matchup against Trone, as well as roughly a quarter of Democratic voters, according to the survey. Independents backed Hogan over Alsobrooks 43% to 18%, with 31% of Democratic voters supporting the Republican. (RELATED: Larry Hogan Announces Bid For Senate)
The Emerson College survey polled 1,000 registered voters in Maryland from Feb. 12 to Feb. 13 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
Hogan received a plurality of support for the Republican nomination at 43% ahead of the May 17 race, with no other candidate eclipsing double digit support and 43% remaining undecided, according to the poll. Trone led Alsobrooks for the Democratic primary 32% to 17%, with 37% of the voters remaining undecided.
“This poll confirms what we hear everywhere that I go: Marylanders are sick and tired of career politicians like Larry Hogan and Mitch McConnell and the special interests that they serve in Washington at the expense of hard-working Americans,” Trone said in a statement. “We’re excited to see another poll that shows the hard work of our supporters is growing our lead in the Democratic primary, but we must remain focused on building the Democratic base and a ground game that can beat Larry Hogan and Mitch McConnell and protect our Senate majority in November.”
I called it last summer — Hogan would be recruited and fall in line with Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, and extremist Republicans by jumping into this Senate race.
Hogan is in this for personal gain, not for Marylanders. pic.twitter.com/aaw54UYMEK
— David Trone (@davidjtrone) February 12, 2024
The former governor was first elected in 2014 where he beat his Democratic opponent 51% to 47.2%. Hogan secured a second term in 2018 by double digits, and became only the second Republican governor to be reelected in Maryland.
The Cook Political Report characterizes the race as in the “Likely D” column for 2024, along with indicted Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey’s seat.
The Emerson College poll also found President Joe Biden leading former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, 55% to 32% for a potential general election matchup, with 13% remaining undecided. The president’s lead shrinks to 16 points when third-party candidates are included.
Biden won Maryland by roughly 33 points in 2020, and Hillary Clinton beat Trump for the state 60.3% to 33.9% the previous cycle.
Neither campaigns for Hogan nor Alsobrooks immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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