A new statewide opinion survey, released early Wednesday, shows Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley leading Republican ex-Gov. Bob Ehrlich by 9 percentage points in a hypothetical rematch.
The two-point drop in O'Malley's advantage, compared with a September survey by the same pollster, is not statistically significant (the poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points). In early November, a published poll by another firm showed O'Malley ahead by a slightly smaller margin, 7 points.
Still, many Ehrlich supporters will likely view the new results as evidence that the Republican is gaining as an unannounced challenger.
While O'Malley may be nervously looking over his shoulder--understandably, given the electorate's sour mood--the other major candidate in a 2010 statewide contest has yet to see a serious threat emerge.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, running for another six-year term this November, when she'll be 74, enjoys a job-approval score of 64 percent in the new poll by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies of Annapolis.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/2010/01/poll_omalley_leads_ehrlich_by.html