State Political Profile: Maryland
Governor
Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who four years ago became the first Republican to win the state's gubernatorial contest since Spiro T. Agnew in 1966, is seeking election to a second term. Two strong Democratic candidates -- Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan -- are vying for their party's nomination in the September primary.
Recent polling showed O'Malley running a little stronger than either of his opponents, but there is no clear favorite to win in November. The race is expected to easily shatter the Maryland fundraising record set four years ago, when Ehrlich and then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend collectively raised $18.9 million. Ehrlich, who has a formidable fundraising machine, is considered a good bet to raise that much or more by himself this year. Duncan and O'Malley will add millions more. Reports filed in January gave these totals for cash on hand going into election year: Ehrlich, $8.4 million; O'Malley, $4.2 million; Duncan, $1.3 million.
Ehrlich won in a heavily Democratic state by running as a moderate, and he has begun the election year with a series of announcements to burnish his moderate credentials: Proposing state aid for research on stem cells, including embryonic stem cells; imposing clean air restrictions on coal fired power plants; boosting funding for public schools and higher education; increasing state aid for programs for the disabled; proposing pay raises for state employees; increasing funding for land preservation.
While he vetoed a bill last year to provide medical decision-making rights for unmarried couples who registered as life partners, he said he believes gay and heterosexual couples should have the right to make decisions for each other and, after negotiations with gay rights advocates, is sponsoring legislation this year to provide an alternate medical decision making procedure to develop legislation for the 2006 General Assembly. Ehrlich has disappointed gun owners by not trying to undo any of Maryland's restrictive gun laws. He believes women should have the right to an abortion.
O'Malley is a charismatic political figure who has been handily elected twice as Baltimore mayor, beating black candidates in a city that is predominantly black. He fits the moderate to liberal Democratic model that has long held sway in Maryland. O'Malley has promoted a drop in the crime rate and the murder rate that occurred in Baltimore since he was elected mayor in 1999. He also touts improved scores in reading and math in the city's elementary schools and has reduced the tax rate. But crime is still high in Baltimore, schools still lag behind the rest of the state and he must overcome the negative perceptions that go with being a big-city mayor.
Duncan lacks O'Malley's charisma and Ehrlich's folksy charm, coming across more as a competent and steady administrator. He is finishing his 12th year as chief executive in Montgomery County, a wealthy, highly educated and liberal Democratic bastion in the Washington suburbs that has more voters than any other county or Baltimore city. Duncan has adopted a slightly more moderate stance than most of his county's Democrats. He has had good relations with county businesses and has favored planned development. He can and does brag about good schools, low crime, expansive county services and reductions in the property tax rate.
Ehrlich won four years ago by holding on to his conservative base and appealing to independent and moderate Democrats. He also hopes to cut into the black vote this year because of his selection four years ago of Michael Steele as Maryland's first black lieutenant governor. Democrats are counting on disaffection with President Bush and having a stronger candidate than Townsend proved to be four years ago to take back the governor's office.
U.S. Senate
With Democrat Paul Sarbanes retiring, a crowded field of Democrats is competing for the nomination to face the likely Republican nominee, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Republicans believe they have a shot at capturing a Senate seat because there is no incumbent and Steele is the strongest candidate they have fielded since Charles McC. Mathias retired in 1986.
The two early favorites in a crowded Democratic field for the September primary are U.S. Rep. Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume, a former member of Congress and one-time executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Both come from the traditional Maryland liberal Democratic tradition, although Cardin's positions have been somewhat more moderate than Mfumes. Cardin was much more successful early on in raising money and gaining endorsements from Democratic elected officials. But Mfume is expected to draw strong support among black voters, who usually cast about 40 percent of the vote in Democratic primaries. Early polls showed Cardin a little ahead with Mfume clearly within striking distance. Several other candidates are seeking the nomination and are running active campaigns, but no one other than Cardin and Mfume was able to break out of the pack in early campaigning.
Steele was heavily recruited to give up his job as lieutenant governor and run for the Senate by national Republican leaders, including White House aide Karl Rove and Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who heads the National Republican National Senatorial Committee. He was promised substantial fundraising help if he entered the race, and President Bush has already appeared at one fundraiser for him in Baltimore. State Republican leaders endorsed him early on and discouraged other Republicans from challenging him for the nomination. Steele is more conservative than Ehrlich on some issues such as abortion, where he disagrees with the governor's support for a woman's right to choose an abortion, but is opposed to the death penalty, which Ehrlich supports.
U.S. House
Seven of Maryland's eight members of Congress -- five Democrats and two Republicans -- are running for new terms, and all are heavily favored to win.
Democrat Ben Cardin's decision to run for the Senate opened up a vacancy in the state's 3rd District and set off a mad scramble among Democrats eager to take a shot at an open seat. At least half a dozen viable candidates have entered the race, and no one has emerged as a clear frontrunner. Republicans struggled to find a candidate who could mount a serious challenge to Democrats in the district that meanders through the heavily populated center of the state in Baltimore and three nearby counties.
Legislature
All 188 members of the General Assembly -- 47 in the Senate and 141 in the House -- are up for election to four-year terms. Democrats hold 98 House seats and 33 Senate seats, and their domination of the legislature does not seem to be in jeopardy. Republicans say they have no chance of taking control this year, but they hope to continue to chip away at the numbers by picking up seats from Democrats, as they have in most recent elections.
-- Associated Press
