| Page 3 of 3 < |
O'Malley Theme: Duncan Who?
Martin O'Malley, left, promoted his environmental stance in a visit to state-owned land that Gov. Robert Ehrlich weighed selling. With him are Sen. Roy P. Dyson, center, Robert Jarboe and Linda Vallandingham.
(By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Duncan's campaign manager, Scott Arceneaux, said O'Malley's tactics were "unfortunate for voters." "Clearly, he's running a classic front-runner's campaign," Arceneaux said. "He thinks he can avoid other candidates and issues."
Duncan aides have pointed to a couple of recent polls as evidence that the county executive is gaining traction.
One conducted early this month showed O'Malley leading Duncan, 47 percent to 33 percent, with 20 percent undecided. The 14-point margin declined from 22 points in a June poll conducted by the same firm, Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group.
The poll was commissioned by Montgomery Del. Peter Franchot, a Democratic candidate for comptroller, who shares a pollster with O'Malley.
Another recent poll showed O'Malley with a 9-point lead over Duncan, 44 percent to 35 percent, with the remaining 21 percent undecided. Aides to O'Malley have sought to discredit that poll, conducted by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies, because it was conducted over 10 days, longer than the typical survey, and contacted fewer Democrats than other recent polls.
O'Malley aides say that from a strategic standpoint, they are not looking past the primary. Plenty of effort is still being put into recruiting volunteers and building an organization in areas that will be key to the primary result.
The campaign has devoted a section of its Web site to responding to "misleading attacks" from both Duncan and Ehrlich.
But the aides also say O'Malley stands to gain from the current dynamic, which could lead some voters to believe that the outcome of the primary is a foregone conclusion. That perception is one obstacle Duncan faces, some observers say.
"It appears to me that Duncan is running against O'Malley, and O'Malley is running against Ehrlich, and . . . Doug seems to be suffering as a result," said Harry Weitzel, a former trustee at St. Mary's College of Maryland, who attended speeches at the campus by the two candidates a week apart.
Staff writer Robert Barnes contributed to this report.
