Alsobrooks Leads Hogan In MD Senate Race, New Poll Shows

MARYLAND — Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks is leading former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in a closely-watched U.S. Senate race that could determine which party holds the majority, according to a new poll released Monday.

Alsobrooks, a Democrat, had an 11-point lead over the former Republican governor, according to a poll conducted by the North Carolina firm Public Policy Polling. The organization surveyed 635 registered voters last Wednesday and Thursday.

The poll had a 3.9-point margin of error, the firm said.

Alsobrooks defeated U.S. Rep. David Trone in May's primary election after the congressman spent about $62 million of his personal fortune to self-finance his campaign. Now, she's running in a competitive race against popular former governor Hogan for a Senate seat that is opening with the retirement of Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat.

A Republican has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Maryland in more than 40 years in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 statewide. But Hogan is running the most competitive Senate race for the GOP in the state in decades.

Alsobrooks would become Maryland's first Black U.S. senator, and the nation's third Black woman to be elected to the Senate if she wins in November.

According to Public Policy Polling's latest poll, Alsobrooks is leading Hogan 48 percent to 40 percent.

When other candidates were included, survey respondents gave Alsobrooks 45 percent, Hogan 34 percent, Libertarian nominee Mike Scott 3 percent, and Green Party nominee Nancy Wallace and independent Emmanuel Osuchukwu 1 percent each.

Hogan also took 15 percent of the Democratic vote in the poll with Alsobrooks, according to the survey.

"Recent history suggests that Senate candidates in states that strongly favor the other party see their level of crossover support get smaller and smaller as the election nears, which doesn’t bode well for Hogan to close his already double-digit gap," pollsters said.

See full poll results online. While Public Policy Polling is generally hired by Democrats, it does not poll for them exclusively, according to a Maryland Matters report. It is unclear who commissioned the poll.