Rare Open Seats And a Big Field Are Producing A Robust Election
By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 31, 2006
With two lions of Maryland politics leaving office this year and a third threatened, this fall's election could usher in a new generation of officeholders who could dominate state politics for decades to come.
U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D) and Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. (D) are stepping down after decades in their posts, and another fixture, Comptroller William Donald Schaefer (D), is in a tough battle for reelection with two members of his party.
The upshot is an election year unlike any in recent decades, with several candidates running for each seat and millions of dollars being spent. The Sept. 12 primaries will go a long way toward shaping the story line for the November general election.
Only one marquee race lacks primary-day drama. For the first time in years, there are no intraparty contests for governor.
Incumbent Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is the only candidate for the Republican nomination, and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley became the Democrats' presumptive nominee when Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan dropped out in June, citing clinical depression.
O'Malley and Ehrlich have been in general-election mode ever since, airing television ads in the large Baltimore media market and trading barbs over each other's records. Two other candidates, Ed Boyd of the Green Party and Christopher Driscoll of the Populist Party, also will compete in the general election.
Schaefer, a former Maryland governor, appears to be in one of the tougher fights of his 50-year run in public service.
Polls show Schaefer, whose storied career includes four terms as Baltimore's mayor, ahead in the comptroller's race but vulnerable. The antics and curmudgeonly demeanor of the 84-year-old pol, once seen as endearing, seem to have worn thin with many voters. His behavior, rather than the arcane duties of his office, has become the focal point of a spirited race.
Two credible Democrats have stepped forward to challenge Schaefer: Del. Peter Franchot (Montgomery) and Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens. Franchot is portraying Schaefer as too cozy with Ehrlich, and Owens's slogan is hardly subtle: "It's Time."
Some analysts say that Schaefer's having two opponents, and not one, may enable him to capture the nomination.
Four Republicans -- Stephen N. Abrams, Anne M. McCarthy, Mark M. Spradley and Gene Zarwell -- are seeking their party's nod. The Green Party has nominated Bob Auerbach.
The retirement of Sarbanes, 73, has set off a scramble to fill Maryland's first open Senate seat in two decades, drawing 29 candidates, most of whom have no chance of prevailing. The field will be winnowed considerably on primary day.
The 18 Democrats seeking their party's nomination include Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and former congressman and NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume, both of Baltimore. Their race has been driven less by differences on issues than by their contrasting styles and questions about whether party leaders were too quick to close ranks behind Cardin, who is white, as opposed to Mfume, who is black.
Among the others on the ballot are Josh Rales, a Montgomery County businessman who is using millions of dollars of his own money to promote his candidacy in television ads; Allan Lichtman, an American University history professor and Montgomery resident; and Dennis Rasmussen, a former Baltimore county executive.
Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, one of several prominent black Republicans across the nation seeking office this year, is expected to prevail among the 10 candidates from his party seeking the nomination, setting up a spirited contest in the November election. A Green Party contender also will compete in the general election.
Curran's exit has opened up a lively race for the attorney general's job.
Two Democrats, Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler and Baltimore lawyer Stuart O. Simms, are vying for their party's nomination. A third, Montgomery County Council member Tom Perez, was on the ballot until last week, when the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that he was ineligible for the job because he had not spent 10 years as a Maryland lawyer.
Republican Scott L. Rolle, the Frederick County state's attorney, is unopposed for his party's nod.
Simms had been running for lieutenant governor on Duncan's ticket but switched races after Duncan dropped out.
Whoever prevails will be several years junior to Curran, 75. His long career in Maryland politics includes stints in the General Assembly and service as lieutenant governor.
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