Republican incumbent County Executive Allan Kittleman has a double-digit lead over Democratic opponent Calvin Ball, according to a new poll.

The Howard County Voter Poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy shows Kittleman has the support of 53 percent of likely voters while Ball has backing of 37 percent. Ten percent of voters are undecided.

The poll credited Kittleman’s lead to personal popularity and his 63 percent job-approval rating.

“We think the race is a lot closer than this poll would have you believe,” said Colleen Martin-Lauer, a spokeswoman for the Ball campaign. Martin-Lauer said an August poll by a Mississippi-based Democratic firm and paid for by Our Voice MD, a nonprofit supportive of Ball, showed a closer race — with Kittleman leading by 3.8 percentage points.

“It’s always good to see an independent poll confirm what we’re seeing and hearing on the ground,” said Sean Murphy, a spokesman for the Kittleman campaign, who declined to disclose internal polling.

“Allan has been earning the votes of Howard County residents for the last four years by pulling people of all backgrounds together, putting politics aside and getting things done,” Murphy said.

The survey, released last week, shows Ball struggling to dominate core Democratic blocs. Among women, 38 percent said they would vote for him. Ball had 46 percent support from voters ages 18 to 34.

Ninety percent of Republicans and 33 percent of Democrats support Kittleman while 6 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of Democrats support Ball.

The poll suggested that Kittleman, who is white, struggles most with black voters — 24 percent support him while 69 percent support Ball, who is black.

Ball, who represents District 2 on the council, which includes portions of Elkridge and Columbia, struggles with favorable perception — 36 percent of likely voters favorably recognized Ball’s name and 22 percent did not recognize him at all, according to the poll.

The survey was conducted between Sept. 17 and Sept. 19 and was based on 625 random phone interviews with registered voters, all of whom said they were likely to vote. Pollsters said the margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The poll was financed by Preservation Maryland and was attached to a survey that showed support for alternative flood mitigation plans for historic Ellicott City. The nonprofit is unaffiliated with either campaign.

Early voting begins Oct. 25.

County nets $220,000 for bike, pedestrian project

Howard County will receive $220,000 from the state for design of bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the area of Dobbin and McGaw roads.

The grant was announced Wednesday as part of an overall package of $17.27 million in grants designed to support improvements for bicycle and pedestrian safety across the state.

Officials said the money will be used to design a shared-use pathway, sidewalks and crosswalks along Dobbin Road and McGaw Road from Oakland Mill Road to Stanford Boulevard and will “provide pedestrians and bicycles access from an existing pathway and existing transit stops to the businesses and employers in the area.”

Officials said the statewide allocation will address 43 projects. The money includes $14 million in federal funding from the Transportation Alternatives Program, $2 million in state funds from the Maryland Bikeways Program and $1.3 million in federal funding from the Recreational Trails Program. —Staff reports