The gubernatorial race for governor of Maryland is gathering speed, and with less than a month away, both candidates are campaigning hard. The two candidates, incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan and Democratic challenger Ben Jealous met for a debate on Oct. 1.

The candidates discussed key issues for Maryland’s future. Two of of the most dramatic disagreements came on transportation and schools. Hogan said that there has been record funding for transportation, but Jealous responded by asking, “If we have record funding, why don’t we have record results?”

On the issue of schools, Jealous claimed that Hogan had no specific plan to close the achievement gap. However, Hogan argued that his administration has been pushing for local jurisdictions. After the debate, both sides claimed victory over the other, so there was no clear winner. However, voters now have a clear picture of both candidates.  

In the past, the voter turnout for midterms has been drastically low. However, this year may be different. The Guardian expects that the US midterm election will have “higher than typical” voter turnout, as a record number of people have registered to vote. The article speculated that the “uptick in political engagement” has raised the stakes for the the mid-term election, energizing voters on both the left and the right.

Like in many other cases, knowledge of current events is reflected in the opinions of students at RM. Many are informed about the election and its candidates. Unlike many midterm elections in the past, this time around, students are well-informed about the candidates and who they think should win.

Sophomore Jerry Shen said, “Larry Hogan, our current governor is winning the race. He has a much better chance at winning because he’s an incumbent.” The polls back this up. A Mason-Dixon poll found that Hogan has 52 percent of public support while Jealous only has 37 percent. According to the same poll, 68 percent, including 55 percent of Democrats, said they approve of Hogan.

This view seems to be consistent throughout a portion of the RM population. Both freshman Ishanvi Malayanil and freshman Alex Tong agree that although Hogan is Republican, he is winning the polls by a strong margin. “Hogan is currently in the lead by 15 percent of support at 52 percent, while Jealous is at 37 percent,” Tong said.

“Although Ben Jealous is representing the majority party in Maryland, his main stances are on activism rather than change,” Malayanil said. “One of the biggest issues on the table at the moment is public education and division of resources. However, Ben Jealous’ front is centered around environment and public policy rather than division of resources.”

Junior Jose Hernandez took a different stance on the issue. He found that the deciding factor is the Maryland teachers union, a group among which Hogan is losing support. Just in the past month, the teachers union sought to block off Hogan from using his apple logo. The Maryland State Education Association announced that it was taking Hogan to court over it.

Former President Barack Obama has also endorsed Jealous. Obama said Jealous has the “vision, experience, and courage to move families forward.”