Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Congressman Elijah Cummings would be the front-runner if he decides to run for retiring Senator Barbara Mikulski’s seat.

A Washington-post, University of Maryland poll of 1,006 Maryland residents found if Cummings decides to run for Mikulski’s Senate seat he’d have a double digit lead over the other two candidates.

“It was a surprise to me to see Representative Cummings with such a big lead over the other two candidates,” said University of Maryland Researcher Michael Hanmer.

Cummings got 33 percent of the vote, while Representatives Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen got 20 percent each from poll participants who identified as Democrats or independents who lean Democrat. The other respondents either didn’t favor any the three or had no opinion yet.

Cummings said he will decide whether to run after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the House Select Committee on Benghazi next week. The 10-term congressman is the ranking Democrat on that committee.

If Cummings doesn’t decide to run for the seat, poll participants favored Edwards over Van Hollen by 38 to 28 percent.

“She has a clear advantage based on the results here of getting his [Cummings’] supporters. They’ll both have to work hard throughout the campaign to convert people who haven’t made up their mind,” said Hanmer.

Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Office of Rep. Elijah Cummings)