BALTIMORE — We're just a couple months away from Election Day.
Here in the final stretch a lot of Americans poll watch to grasp who might be the favorite to win.
Of course this year is the highly contested Presidential race between former President Donald Trump and current vice President Kamala Harris.
A majority of nationwide polls show Harris as the slight favorite, although most experts expect things to remain tight within the margin of error.
Traditionally Maryland is considered a safe Electoral College win for Democrats.
This year is no different, however the numbers come after a major party shakeup. Additionally there appears to be one group of voters split down the middle, which for our state tends to be unusual in Presidential races.
About a month-and-a-half ago President Joe Biden was seeking reelection.
That was until a disastrous debate performance led to him dropping out of the race and endorsing Harris.
Now pollsters are trying to compare and contrast Biden's numbers against Trump to that of Harris.
Will Biden voters flock to Harris, will those who refused to back Biden now throw their support behind the VP?
That's just some of the questions polls are tasked with figuring out.
According to a newly released poll from Gonzales Research & Media Services, Inc., if the election were held today Maryland voters lean 56 percent towards Harris with 35 percent backing Trump.
Despite overwhelming numbers for Harris, Trump does have some support from unlikely sources.
Among independent voters, Harris is only favored by two points.
Trump is also pulling in 13 percent of Democratic support, compared to 10 percent of GOP voters going for Harris.
While Harris is dominating at an 83 percent clip with African American voters in Maryland, Trump maintains 11 percent support. The poll also shows 17 percent of Black voters approve of Trump's performance as President.
White voters in the state, meanwhile, are polling behind Trump 48 to 41 percent.
It should also be noted out of the 820 registered voters polled, only 214 of them are Republicans while 443 are Democrats, with Independents making up the remaining 163.
The Gonzales poll also explored state level issues, including voter opinions on juvenile justice reform.
By a 58 to 34 percent margin voters preferred strict juvenile laws over leniency.
"Nearly every demographic group backs strict laws to best assist our juvenile offenders ultimately realize at least a chance at a successful, happy life," the poll found.
That includes African Americans who voted 63 to 37 percent in favor of strict juvenile laws. White voters also showed stronger support (57 percent).
As for how Governor Wes Moore is doing in his first term, 64 percent of voters statewide approve. But only 35 percent of that comes from Republicans.
