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Duncan Wins Support as Candidates Look to Battle in South
Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Douglas M. Duncan and running mate Stuart O. Simms join hands Wednesday in Baltimore.
(By Matt Houston -- Associated Press)
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So far, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) has remained officially neutral in the primary. But he hasn't been shy with his opinion that the Democratic Party in Maryland would be better prepared to take on Ehrlich in the general election if one of the two candidates dropped out.
When campaign finance reports showed Duncan lagging behind O'Malley in January, Miller said: "Duncan has an uphill battle. He knows it." Miller added that he hoped either one would "read the tea leaves."
Southern Maryland Democrats make up less than 5 percent of party rolls in the state. But the fast-growing region is considered a battleground because it is one of the few areas in the state that is not in the shadow of either candidate's home base.
So endorsements could make a difference. Middleton, who has held elected office for two decades, won four years ago with 64 percent of the vote. Levy was a county commissioner for 18 years before being appointed delegate in 2004.
The area also is considered a swing region in the general election. Despite leaning Democratic in voter registration, Charles picked Ehrlich in 2002, 56 percent to 43 percent.
Friday afternoon on the 345-year-old farm was as much about endorsing Duncan as it was about introducing Simms, a former state's attorney in Baltimore who held two Cabinet positions in the administration of Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D).
Like Duncan, Simms sought to shore up his Southern Maryland credentials. He even jokingly thanked Lefty's barbecue joint and the now-shuttered Walls Wigwam Bakery for doing "a lot to my waistline every time I was here."
In addition to Middleton and Levy, Duncan was endorsed by Dels. Sally Y. Jameson (D-Charles) and James E. Proctor Jr. (D-Prince George's), St. Mary's County Commissioner Thomas A. Mattingly Sr. (D-Leonardtown) and former Calvert commissioner Barbara A. Stinnett.
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