Annapolis, MD—Following the launch of his first campaign ads in the general election and a strong debate performance on Monday, today’s Mason-Dixon poll confirmed that Democratic nominee for governor Ben Jealous is heading into the final stretch of the campaign with momentum on his side. The poll shows that Jealous has gained seven points on Larry Hogan from the September Goucher Poll.
The September Goucher poll showed that a Maryland voters were looking for a change candidate and support a $15 minimum wage, Medicare-for-All and marijuana legalization—all key policies of Jealous has promised to implement as governor.
“This poll confirms that Maryland voters want the bold and courageous leadership of Ben Jealous, not Larry Hogan’s piece-meal incrementalism,” said Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews. “As the campaign enters the final stretch, Governor Hogan is struggling to articulate a vision to move Maryland forward. Meanwhile Ben Jealous has a bold vision to grow wages, lower healthcare costs and make Maryland’s schools the best in the nation again.”
In addition to confirming Jealous’ momentum, the poll proves that the millions in Big Pharma-funded misleading ads against Jealous aren’t helping Hogan, who is failing to solidify his support as we get closer to Election Day. Hogan’s soft support is a terrible sign for the Republican governor, who himself was down 17 points five weeks from Election Day in 2014—a wave election for Republicans nationwide. With all signs pointing to a Blue Wave this year, Hogan will have a hard time finding the one million votes he needs to win this election.
The poll comes on the heels of a defensive debate performance from Hogan. Following the debate, the Baltimore Sun editorial board wrote that Jealous “got more out of the debate than Hogan…” The editorial board also took Hogan to task for his misleading remarks on economic growth under his watch, writing, “Mr. Hogan says Maryland under his governorship is a national leader in economic growth. It’s not.”