Fresh off GOP gubernatorial election upsets in New Jersey and Virginia, is there hope for a Republican comeback in Maryland?

According to a recent poll, trouble may be brewing for Governor O'Malley in next year's election. The poll, conducted by the nonpartisan Clarus Research Group, interviewed 637 voters in Maryland between October 30 and November 2, 2009.  Perhaps the most troubling sign for Maryland Governor O'Malley was that 48% of voters polled say would they would prefer someone new to win and only 39% say they want to see Gov. O'Malley re-elected.

The front runner for the Republicans would be former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich.  Even though Ehrlich has not committed to running, Clarus included a hypothetical 2010 rematch in their poll with O'Malley leading his former Republican rival by a 47-40 percent margin.

The results of the poll highlighted that O'Malley has a significant advantage over Ehrlich among women and African Americans voters. During the 2006 election, O'Malley defeated incumbent Ehrlich with a nearly 20 point advantage with women voters and a 60 point advantage with African Americans.