Alsobrooks leads Hogan by 11 points in Maryland Senate poll

Democrat Angela Alsobrooks has a double-digit lead over former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in the Maryland Senate race, according to the first poll released since the state’s primary earlier this month.

A Public Policy Polling (PPP) poll found that 45 percent of Marylanders support Alsobrooks, while 34 percent support Hogan and 5 percent support another candidate. In the choice between Alsobrooks and Hogan alone, the Democrat maintained a slightly smaller 8-point lead, 48 percent to 40 percent.

PPP, a company affiliated with the Democratic Party, conducted the research independently, according to a company spokesperson.

The Maryland Senate race began after Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) announced he would step down in early May, but gained national attention after Hogan, the popular former governor, announced his candidacy and raised the stakes. GOP hopes of flipping the seat.

Hogan flirted with a presidential run, but announced he would not run for president in March. Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, defeated Rep. David Trone (D-Md.) in a tight race for the Democratic nomination amid a record spending congressman’s spree.

According to the survey, Hogan surpasses Alsobrooks in the approval rating, with 50% against 43%. However, his net favorability is higher, at 27 points, as opposed to Hogan’s 17-point margin.

Although former President Trump supported Hogan, the former governor alienated much of the former president’s base with his criticism of Trump. Hogan’s team responded to Trump’s endorsement with an ad touting his political independence.

In the poll, 26% of Republicans polled had an unfavorable opinion of Hogan.

Still, many Republicans supported his candidacy in hopes of securing a majority in the Senate. Hogan was quietly recruited to run for the seat by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Despite trailing Alsobrooks overall, Hogan leads support among Maryland independents, with 42% of the vote, and has a 15% share of Democrats. According to the latest out-of-state voter registration data, individuals not affiliated with any party represent approximately 21 percent of the eligible electorate.

A The Hill/Emerson poll conducted before the Maryland primary on May 14 similarly projected Alsobrooks with a 10-point lead over Hogan.

The PPP poll was conducted among 635 registered voters in Maryland on June 19-20. The margin of error for the total sample is 3.9 percentage points.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story