Steele in Spotlight as Campaign Kicks Off

"Those are the issues we want to talk about, because constituents and voters want to talk about them," Cardin said.

For those drawn to Steele by his social stances, the Senate race is actually a time of renewed expectations. Jane Henderson, executive director of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, said she had high hopes when Steele promised to champion the views of those who oppose the death penalty -- a position Steele credits to his religious convictions.

Henderson said she reached out to Steele when he first took office but received no response. "I think he's been pretty much muzzled by this administration," she said.

Similarly Douglas Stiegler, executive director of the socially conservative Family Protection Lobby, said he is hopeful that Steele will now "be more open to espousing his views and his issues as his own candidate. Before, he wasn't elected as an individual and had to reflect [Ehrlich's] views."

Signs were evident yesterday that Steele and Ehrlich, while pledging to maintain their friendship and run parallel campaigns, are starting down separate tracks.

Steele said he did not view their partnership as being over. "This is a transformation, not a separation," Steele said. "We will transform from Ehrlich-Steele to Ehrlich and Steele, Steele and Ehrlich."

Still, during yesterday's news conference, Steele took several questions from Baltimore Sun reporter David Nitkin, one of the two State House journalists Ehrlich declared off-limits for interviews. Ehrlich has held firm on the ban, even going to court to defend it in a lawsuit filed by the Sun.

When asked whether Steele had decided not to heed the ban, Steele smiled. "Ban? What ban? I never had a ban."