By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 7, 2006

Some past and present Southern Maryland politicians lined up Friday behind Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) in his bid to become Maryland's next governor.

Duncan used the gathering on a 300-acre farm near Waldorf to introduce his running mate, Baltimore lawyer Stuart O. Simms, to a crowd of about two dozen Democrats.

Duncan is trailing his primary opponent, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, in fundraising and polling, and he has sought to present his team as the policy-wonkish alternative to both O'Malley and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

His choice of Simms, months after he had promised to announce a running mate, was an example, Duncan said, of his practice of putting substance ahead of style.

"This decision was too important to be rash," he said.

It was Duncan's record in Montgomery County that attracted endorsements Friday from state Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles) and Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles), who is himself considered something of a wonk.

"He's a nuts-and-bolts-type government person. He knows how to make it work," Levy said, recalling crucial advice and support Duncan provided in the aftermath of the April 2002 La Plata tornado.

"The last four years we've had a government of politics," added Middleton, in a not-so-subtle jab at Ehrlich.

Some of those assembled said they were still sizing up the primary candidates and were not prepared to commit to either one.

Charles Commissioner Edith J. Patterson and lawyer Reuben Collins, a candidate for commissioner, said they were undecided but attracted to Duncan's success with his county's public schools.

Still, Patterson said, comparing schools in Montgomery with those in Baltimore would be "unjust."

O'Malley, she said, "inherited issues and problems, and he's done a great job turning that city around."

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.