Van Hollen Leads Edwards In New Poll

Results from other questions, including presidential preference and approval rates of President Barack Obama and Gov. Larry Hogan. Download This File

The poll in the U.S. Senate race Download This File

A new poll on Maryland's U.S. Senate race finds Kathy Szeliga and Chris Van Hollen leading their respective primaries.

For the Republicans, it's the first sign of a clear front-runner. For the Democrats, it's a shift from other recent polling that had Van Hollen either tied or slightly trailing congressional colleague Donna Edwards for the seat left vacant by the retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

The NBC4/Marist poll has Van Hollen leading 44 percent to 38 percent among likely primary voters, with a 3.5 percent margin of error. On the Republican side, Szeliga leads Richard Douglas 20 percent to 13 percent, with a 5.1 percent margin of error. More than half of likely voters polled on the Republican side said they were undecided.

Voters were also asked about their feelings on President Barack Obama (62 percent approval rate among Maryland voters) and Gov. Larry Hogan (68 percent approve), as well as the presidential race. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in Maryland approximately 2-to-1.

Among likely Republican voters, 41 percent said they would vote for front-runner Donald Trump, followed by 29 percent for Ted Cruz and 24 percent for John Kasich. Kasich is holding a town hall in Savage on Wednesday.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 58 percent to 36 percent. The former secretary of state is looking to states like New York and Maryland to rebound after a string of losses to the senator from Vermont.