Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan (R.) is evenly matched with his likely Democratic opponent in the state's 2024 Senate race, according to a Friday poll.
Hogan and Rep. David Trone (D., Md.) both received 42 percent of voters' support in the poll from Emerson College. Hogan and Trone both led in their respective primaries. Against Prince George's County executive Angela Alsobrooks (D.), who trails Trone in the Democratic primary, Hogan leads by a margin of 44 percent to 37 percent.
In a hypothetical matchup against Trone, Hogan wins 48 percent of independents and nearly a quarter of Democrats, said Emerson College Polling executive director Spencer Kimball. Similarly, independents supported Hogan in a race against Alsobrook.
Pollsters also asked Maryland voters about November's presidential race that likely will be between President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump. Biden led Trump in a head-to-head race by a margin of 55 percent to 32 percent and by 47 percent to 31 percent on a ballot with third-party candidates. A majority of voters in the state expressed concerns about Biden's age.
"While Trump’s vote looks like his 2020 share of voters at 32 percent, Biden underperforms by about 10 points," said Kimball. "Eleven percent of 2020 Biden voters are undecided, compared to 3 percent of Trump voters."
Hogan's announcement of his campaign last week gives Republicans a greater shot at winning the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D., Md.). Hogan won two terms as governor, and he left office at the beginning of 2023 with an approval rating of 77 percent, according to one poll.