Democrat Rales Joins Race for Senate in Md.

Newcomer Plans to Tap Personal Wealth

Montgomery County businessman Josh Rales joined the crowded Democratic field yesterday in the race for U.S. Senate, bringing with him substantial personal wealth and what he described as an outsider's mentality.

"Politics as usual isn't working for us," Rales said. "I'm a problem solver. I want to get in there and help people. I'm a straight shooter."

Rales, who joins veteran candidates such as U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman and NAACP president, said he has raised $452,000 from private donors and put $100,000 of his own into his campaign. He said he will report those contributions in filings due this month.

How his entry could change the dynamics of the race is unknown, especially if he makes good on plans to spend up to $6 million of his own money. What was clear yesterday is that his recent party switch will not escape notice.

In a news release, another Senate candidate, American University professor Allan J. Lichtman, attacked Rales for his recent financial support of GOP candidates, including a $2,000 contribution to President Bush in 2003.

Rales donated money to "right-wing Republicans who opposed the priorities of Maryland Democrats, including civil rights and liberties, women's rights, aid to education, and support for working and middle class families," Lichtman's statement said.

Rales said he anticipated the questions about his past affiliation with the GOP.

"I'm just as frustrated as many other Democrats about the policies of George Bush," he said. "The party's been hijacked by the religious right. There's no room for someone like me in the Republican Party. I know it was a mistake, and I'm going to be upfront about it."

Rales, 48, of Potomac, described himself as someone who "built a business from scratch." In 1984, he founded RFI Associates, a real estate investment company that buys and renovates apartment communities in the Washington area.

Rales says he is not looking at a Senate bid as a wealthy man's hobby.

"There's a lot of support out there for change and for someone who's going to be authentic," he said. "I don't think this is a vanity candidacy at all."

Other Democrats running for Senate include former Baltimore County executive Dennis F. Rasmussen, forensic psychiatrist Lise Van Susteren and community activist A. Robert Kaufman.