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Prospecting in Clarksburg
. . . For a Four-Ring Circus
With four candidates vying for the Senate seat in District 19, the political theatrics appear to have begun.
Mike Jones , a Democratic candidate for County Council, said he got polled on the race over the weekend.
Jones, who is backing Mahoney, said a caller asked him if he had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Petzold and Mandel.
The caller, according to Jones, then asked if he would support a "Catholic, male, unknown candidate who is former president of the Young Democrats" -- an apparent reference to Mahoney.
Jones said the pollster asked him if he had an opinion on a "unknown Jewish man who is an attorney" -- an apparent reference to Lenett.
Jones was appalled.
"Maybe in 1960, when John F. Kennedy ran for president, it mattered if someone was Catholic, but in this day and age it shouldn't be a factor," Jones said.
Mandel, Mahoney and Petzold all said they didn't sponsor the poll. Lenett said he's conducting several different surveys but none that use "religious identifiers."
In GOP, Presidential Picks
Montgomery County Republicans are already looking ahead to the 2008 presidential race.
At the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee convention on Saturday, activists held a straw poll on their choices for president in 2008.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Virginia Sen. George Allen tied for first place, each receiving 38 votes. Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani came in second with 31 votes. Arizona Sen. John McCain got 21 votes, while Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won 13 votes.
But some Montgomery Republicans apparently have Bush fatigue. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush received 10 votes, two fewer than Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
Challengers Lead in Money Race
Some Montgomery County state legislators are lagging behind their opponents in the race for dollars, according to campaign finance reports.
In District 39, which includes North Potomac, Germantown and Montgomery Village, challenger Saqib Ali has raised $63,000 for his campaign to be the Democratic nominee for the state House. That's twice as much as the three incumbents in the district have raised, combined, in the past year.
Del. Charles E. Barkley (D) raised $12,240 in 2005 and reports $27,530.78 in the bank. Del. Nancy J. King (D) took in $8,015 and has $8,985 in the bank. Del. Joan F. Stern raised $9,510, with $22,000 in the bank.
A separate account for the District 39 slate -- which consists of Barkley, King and Stern -- has a cash balance of $20,000.
But Ali, 30, a software engineer, says his fundraising is all the more impressive because he didn't start until September and doesn't accept money from political action committees.
Meanwhile, in District 17, which includes Rockville and Gaithersburg, Ryan Spiegel reports raising about $30,000 for his campaign for the Democratic nomination for the state House.
Spiegel, a lawyer, has about $5,000 more in the bank than one of his potential opponents, Del. Michael R. Gordon (D). The incumbents are barred from fundraising until the General Assembly session concludes in April.
Raskin, Backers Make It Official
Jamin "Jamie" Raskin , an American University law professor, has formally announced that he is challenging District 20 Sen. Ida G. Ruben in this year's Democratic primary.
Ruben has represented District 20, which includes parts of Silver Spring and Takoma Park, since 1987. But Raskin is widely expected to give Ruben her most serious challenge in years.
Even though Ruben, who represented District 20 in the House of Delegates between 1975 and 1987, has been a fixture in county politics for three decades, several longtime activists are lining up behind Raskin.
"I think the time has finally come when it's someone else's turn," said Dorothy Davidson , who has been active in county politics for four decades, including working tirelessly on behalf of Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) in his past two races.
Former council member Esther Gelman and State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler are also supporting Raskin.
