The Democratic candidate in Maryland's Senate race is leading her Republican rival, even though more than a third of voters don't know her name.
A poll released this week by Gonzales Research & Media Services found that Prince George's County Mayor Angela Alsobrooks has a five-point lead over former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, 46% to 41%.
The poll success comes as a surprise, given that Democratic candidate Also Brooks continues to struggle due to his lack of name recognition among voters.
Gonzalez's poll found that about 34% of registered voters do not know Alsobrooks' name, including about 33% of independents who are not aware of Alsobrooks and 17% of registered Democratic voters.
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Maryland Democratic Senate candidate and Prince George's County Mayor Angela Alsobrooks speaks at a Gun Violence Awareness Day campaign event at the Kentland Community Center in Landover, Maryland. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
Notably, 72% of all voters said in the poll that they were unaware of the Democratic candidate.
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The winner of November's election will succeed Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly 20 years in the Senate and nearly 60 years as a state and federal lawmaker.
Hogan's late entry into the race in February has created an unexpected headache for Democrats as they try to protect their fragile Senate majority in a state previously considered a safe zone.
Former two-term Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan celebrated his victory in the 2024 Maryland Republican US Senate Primary in Annapolis, Maryland. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Hogan leaves office at the start of 2023 with extremely high approval ratings and favorable ratings.
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Hogan, a vocal Republican critic of former President Trump who has previously hinted at a 2024 presidential run, has repeatedly said he would not vote for Trump in November. In the spring, he set himself apart from many other Republicans by publicly calling for the respect of Trump's criminal conviction.
The Gonzales Research & Media Services poll was conducted Aug. 24-30 and surveyed 820 self-identified voters via telephone interview.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
