Election Day is just around the corner. On November 6, Maryland residents will vote not only for the usual seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but also for the position of governor.
This year’s candidates, incumbent Governor Larry Hogan and challenger Ben Jealous, have now been actively campaigning for over a year. Ever since he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in May of 2017, Jealous has been aiming to restore Maryland’s historical trend of having a Democratic governor.
Since 1969, there have only been two Republican governors in the state of Maryland: Bob Ehrlich Jr., who served a mere single term, and Hogan himself. Although unexpected, Hogan’s initial win in 2014 might become a decisive factor in his securing a second term. As an incumbent, Hogan not only possesses easier access to campaign finances, but also a general name recognition with the public. People often gravitate toward a candidate who has experience, and as current governor, Hogan certainly has that. He is not, however, the only candidate to enjoy these advantages—this national propensity has persisted in all 50 states since the very beginnings of our government.
While Hogan has been making good use of these benefits, Jealous has had to deal with a number of obstacles on his own campaign trail. In the midst of early voting, with just a little over a week from the opening of the polls, it seems as though the most prominent barrier to his bout for the governor seat is the fact that most Marylanders know little to nothing about him.
According to the Washington Post, 32 percent of voters hold no opinion of Jealous, including nearly 3 in 10 Democrats. “I don’t quite know what he stands for, and it’s not clear what he would do. I haven’t gone out of my way to find out, either,” said Somia Hickman, a 46-year-old Democratic resident of Montgomery County.
As of October 28, Hogan is currently 18 percentage points ahead of Jealous in the race according to FiveThirtyEight, a poll site owned and operated by ESPN. Of the 806 likely voters interviewed by FiveThirtyEight, at least 435 of them noted that they would vote for Hogan in the upcoming election.
Although polls often fluctuate and there are typically large margins of error, most sources seem to agree on the fact that Hogan has maintained a solid lead over Jealous throughout the campaign process. In fact, Jealous’s unfavorable ratings have doubled since June of this year.
If the polls’ predictions do indeed come to pass, and Hogan wins the election, this will be his final term in office. Just like the president of the United States, the Maryland governor is limited to two consecutive terms. If, however, Jealous wins, then Maryland can likely expect more Democratic policies similar to what it has generally had in the past.
Ultimately, the 2018 gubernatorial election in Maryland boils down to a single question: do Marylanders want to continue experiencing a more moderate twist on their government with Hogan, or will they revert back to the same-old practice of supporting a Democratic administration?
Article by MoCo Student Staff Writer Elena Moore of Damascus High School