By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
A September poll by Emerson College Polling, DC News Now and The Hill, revealed that Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) is leading her Republican opponent, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in the race for the U.S. Senate.
About 49 percent of voters polled said they’d choose Alsobrooks if the November election was “today,” while 42 percent said they’d vote for Hogan. Alsobrooks also has a 63 percentage point lead among Black voters.
“In this poll, 9 percent of the respondents are still undecided about the Senate race. Given that the margin of difference here is 7 percentage points, the outcome of how they vote will determine the winner,” said Nina Kasniunas, associate professor of political science at Goucher College. “What’s not clear from this poll is whether those voters are undecided because they need more information about who Alsobrooks or whether these are folks who previously supported Hogan as governor but are torn about supporting him for the Senate.”
While this seat would normally be a sure thing for Democrats, the stepping down of Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in May 2023 opened up the door for Hogan, a Republican with enough popularity to potentially turn the normally blue seat to red.
“The outcome of this race will be critical to determining which party controls the Senate,” said Kasniunas.
Democrats currently enjoy a slim majority in the Senate, which means the Maryland contest could tip the balance of power to either side of the aisle in the Congress’ upper chamber.
“Today’s poll demonstrates what we’ve known for a while: Marylanders understand we must defend our Democratic Senate majority to protect our freedoms, fight for safer communities, and lower costs so hardworking families can not just get by, but can thrive,” said Alsobrooks in a statement to the AFRO. “But we also know we still have a lot of work left to do, and this will be a tight race.”
With less than 50 days remaining in the election cycle
, Alsobrooks said she’ll continue “traveling to every corner of our state to remind Marylanders what exactly is at stake in this race – their futures.”
In a May poll by Emerson College Polling, Alsobrooks got 48 percent in a hypothetical matchup of the November election, while Hogan got 38 percent. About 14 percent of registered voters were undecided.
Blake Kernen, campaign spokeswoman for Hogan, said “even in a poll like” this one “Hogan is gaining ground.”
“He’s working to win every vote and represent all Marylanders,” she said.
The September poll also found that the economy is a top issue for 40 percent of likely voters. Following the economy is crime (14 percent), housing affordability (14 percent), threats to democracy (8 percent), education (8 percent), immigration (5 percent), health care (5 percent) and abortion access (3 percent).
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