Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

November 05, 2009

O'Malley Could Face Trouble in Re-Election Bid

A new Clarus Poll in Maryland finds just 39% of voters want to see Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) re-elected with 48% seeking someone new as their governor.

O'Malley's job approval rating is just 48% with 40% disapproving.

However, in a trial heat against former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), O'Malley leads by a 47% to 40% margin. (In the 2006 election, O'Malley won by a 53% to 46% margin.)

Said pollster Ron Faucheux: "O'Malley faces two major problems that are dragging him down. First, his issue ratings are lackluster, especially on economic and fiscal matters. Second, he's polling only 34 percent of independents against Ehrlich. In the 2006 election, he received 47 percent of independents. That's a big drop, one that represents opportunity for a 2010 challenger."

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Related Entries

• O'Malley Maintains Lead in Maryland
• O'Malley Looks Safe for Re-Election
• Ehrlich vs. O'Malley Rematch?

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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