It’s looking like a big year for Democrats nationally.
Independent political handicappers believe the Democrats have a better than even chance of seizing control of the House of Representatives – and could win big. The Democrats have strong candidates for governor in several key states now held by Republicans, especially in the industrial Midwest, and in this current political environment, several of their most vulnerable U.S. senators are expected to hang on. The scandals swirling around President Trump do Republicans no good.
Yet in Maryland – a traditionally blue state that gave Hillary Clinton her fourth biggest victory margin in the 2016 White House election – it’s a very different story. Those same handicappers say it’s likely that Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) will win a second term in November. And bullish Maryland Republicans are hoping that Hogan’s popularity lifts GOP candidates up and down the ballot.
