A Mason-Dixon poll released Friday mirrors two other statewide surveys that have Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan holding a double-digit lead over his Democratic challenger Ben Jealous.
With less than six weeks until the Nov. 6 general election, the poll shows 52 percent of likely voters would support Hogan and 37 percent for Jealous.
Similar to the Goucher College and Gonzales Media & Research polls, more than 60 percent believe in the incumbent Republican’s job performance as governor, the Mason poll found.
The Jealous campaign nevertheless expressed optimism about the newest poll, saying the results show the recent gains their candidate has made.
For instance, the Sept. 19 Goucher College poll showed Jealous with 48 percent of support from Democrats, versus 38 percent for Hogan.
The Mason poll showed the lead for Jealous among fellow Democrats at 57 percent compared to 32 percent for Hogan.
Mason conducted its review between Sept. 24-26, after Jealous and Hogan held their lone gubernatorial debate and after a new round of Jealous campaign TV ads.
“With the vast majority of our resources still unspent, we were able to widen our advantage with Democrats by 15 points, pulling voters from both undecided and Hogan,” said Jealous campaign senior adviser Kevin Harris. “Jealous’ vision is clearly resonating with the voters we need to win on Nov. 6 and we are confident that we can continue to close the gap in the coming weeks and end up on top on election day.”
However, the poll shows independents in support of Hogan, with 58 percent among the 625 statewide voters compared to 26 percent for Jealous.
One day before the Mason poll, the Hogan campaign posted on Twitter a video labeled “Democrats for Hogan.”
“I am incredibly proud of the bipartisan support our campaign has from Democrats and Independents from all walks of life all across our state,” the Hogan campaign said in the accompanying tweet.
The poll has a margin of error of plus/minus 4 percentage points.