In the closely watched Maryland Senate race, Democrat Alsobrooks holds a slight lead over Republican Hogan.

A recent poll shows that the Democratic senate candidate in Maryland has gained a substantial lead over her Republican opponent.

A poll conducted by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland released on Thursday indicates that Democrat Angela Alsobrooks has an 11% advantage over her Republican opponent, Larry Hogan.

The Washington Post-University of Maryland poll shows Alsobrooks leading Hogan 51% to 40%.

Despite having similar levels of popularity among respondents, the gap between likely voters for both candidates is astonishing.

Hogan received a more favorable impression from 53% of respondents, while 27% had an unfavorable impression. In contrast, Alsobrooks received a 50% favorability rating and 22% unfavorability.

In the November elections, the most important issue for registered voters, according to the poll, was the economy, with immigration and abortion coming in second and third place, respectively.

A poll conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland involved 1,012 registered voters and took place between Sept. 19 and Sept. 23.

The reported margin of error for the survey results is between 3.5% and 6.5%.

To have a chance of winning the Senate seat, Hogan will need to attract a significant number of voters from the opposing party, which is outnumbering Republicans by a two-to-one margin in the state. Hogan has been emphasizing his opposition to Trump and his independence from his party as he campaigns.

In contrast to other Republicans, Hogan, who had previously flirted with a 2024 White House run, publicly advocated for the guilty verdicts in Trump's criminal trial to be respected this spring.

Hogan did not attend the Republican National Convention where Trump was officially nominated and has stated that he will not vote for him. Hogan's campaign emphasized in a statement that "Governor Hogan has consistently made it clear that he is not supporting President Trump, just as he did not in 2016 and 2020."

In addition to targeting seats in Ohio and Montana, Republicans are also focusing on flipping Democratic-held seats in crucial presidential-election battleground states.

Planet Chronicle Digital's Paul Steinhauser and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.