XPost: alt.politics.usa, md.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
XPost: talk.politics.guns

WASHINGTON (TND) — A new poll shows former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has a double-digit lead over his Democratic opponents for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.

According to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll published
Wednesday afternoon, Hogan leads Rep. David Trone, D-Md., and Prince
George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in a head-to-head November
matchup.

In a statement, Hogan said he is pleased with the poll’s latest findings,
but cautions a tough race still lies ahead.

I am always humbled by the support of Marylanders, but make no mistake, we
are the underdogs in this race,” Hogan said.
The poll found that if the general election were held today, voters would
cast their ballots for Hogan over Trone at 49% to 37%, respectively.
Hogan’s lead over Alsobrooks was even more significant at a respective 50%
to 36%.

While the poll’s questions did not hide the contestant’s political
affiliation, 55% of Marylanders made it clear they prefer Democrats to
maintain control of the Senate in November.

At age 79, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., announced in May 2023 that he will not
be seeking re-election for his long-held seat.

Since Senator Cardin's announcement, numerous Democratic candidates have
filed to compete for the open seat. With Trone and Alsobrooks emerging as
the top two contenders, this latest poll shows voters have not decided
which candidate they want to challenge Hogan in November.

Holding a thin advantage, the poll shows Trone leads Alsobrooks by a seven-point margin. Ahead of the state’s May 14 primary election, 39% of Democratic voters remain undecided.

Despite millions of dollars worth of ads flooding Maryland’s airwaves,
Trone remains a relative unknown across the state. Nearly half of those surveyed had no opinion of the Western Maryland congressman.

Meanwhile, statewide favorability numbers were less promising for
Alsobrooks. Only 26% of those polled had a favorable view of the Prince George's County official, while 58% of surveyed voters were not familiar
with Alsobrooks.

Hogan’s favorability ratings are nearly double that of his closest
Democratic competition. Much of Hogan’s popularity has been fueled by his handling of Maryland’s budget. When Hogan became governor in January 2015,
he inherited a $5 billion budget deficit that he almost immediately
embarked to fix.

We must get the state government off our backs and out of our pockets so
we can grow the private sector, put people back to work and turn our
economy around,” Hogan promised during his inaugural address.
During his first few months in office, Hogan cut taxes, lowered state fees
and reduced tolls. Despite reducing state revenue sources, Hogan was able
to simultaneously quell Maryland’s budget crisis.

When leaving office in January 2023, Hogan left his successor with a $5
billion dollar surplus. Within a year, the surplus vanished under
Democratic Governor Wes Moore.

Although Moore has signaled he does not plan to raise taxes to eliminate
the state’s $761 million FY2025 shortfall, his party is currently
advancing a nearly $1.3 billion revenue expansion.

Despite Wednesday’s strong poll, Hogan made a direct appeal to voters.

The partisan politicians in Washington will do anything they can to stop
us. Washington is dangerously broken,” Hogan said.
“We need your help to fix the broken politics and send a message to
Washington that will be heard loud and clear across the country.”

Rep. David Trone and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks
did not respond to immediate requests to comment on Wednesday. This
article will be updated with any responses received.

The Washington Post reported the poll’s margin of error is 3.3% for all
voters, with 4.5% among registered Democrats surveyed.

https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/republican-polling- ahead-of-both-top-democrats-in-maryland-senate-race-hogan-leads-rep-david- trone-d-md-and-prince-georges-county-executive-angela-alsobrooks-congress- washington-

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)