Will the blue wave hit Maryland? A new poll from the Washington Post and the University of Maryland says it may miss the governor’s mansion, at least. With less than a month until the election, few voters are undecided in the race between current Republican Governor Larry Hogan and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous.
From the Washington Post:
Likely voters in Maryland support Hogan by a 20-point margin, 58 percent to 38 percent. Just 5 percent have not settled on a candidate.
In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2 to 1, Hogan appears to have assembled a coalition that cuts into the Democratic base, well ahead of Jealous in bellwether Baltimore County and running competitively in heavily Democratic Montgomery. Jealous leads Hogan in only one of Maryland’s major geographic blocs — Prince George’s County.
They also note that Gov. Hogan has had a huge advantage in television ads. He and his supporters have spent $7.5 million compared to Jealous’ $1.4 million. He also has the advantage of being an incumbent that many voters trust.
As we know all too well now, anything can happen on Election Day. Former President Barack Obama did recently endorse Jealous; it’ll be interesting to see how things ultimately turn out.