Republican Larry Hogan leads Maryland's Senate race by a wide margin, but voters in the blue state prefer Democratic control of the US Senate, according to a new poll.
According to the Washington Post-University of Maryland poll, Hogan leads both likely Democratic candidates by double-digit margins in hypothetical general election matchups. The moderate Republican leads Representative David Trone 49 percent to 37 percent and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks 50 percent to 36 percent.
But a poll of 1,004 registered Maryland voters conducted March 5-12 showed that 55 percent of voters wanted Democrats to control the Senate, compared to 35 percent who preferred Republicans. This suggests that Hogan's path to victory may be more difficult than the candidate-versus-candidate polls suggest.
The former governor unexpectedly entered the race last month, bolstered by his widespread name recognition in the state. While registered Democrats far outnumber Republicans, Hogan was known for his bipartisanship during his two terms as governor and was beloved even by Democrats.
According to the poll, 64 percent of voters - including 61 percent of registered Democrats - had a favorable view of Hogan, compared to 33 percent for Trone and 26 percent for Alsobrooks. Many voters had no opinion of Trone or Alsobrooks: 46 percent and 58 percent respectively.
The primary will be held on May 14; Hogan is expected to win on the GOP side, while Trone and Alsobrooks will compete in the Democratic primary. Among registered Democrats, Trone holds a slim lead over Alsobrooks, 34 percent to 27 percent, with 39 percent undecided.
The overall margin of error of the telephone and online poll is plus or minus 3.3 percent.
