Spotlight Is On Calvert's Hard-Run House Race

Since her appointment two years ago to fill a vacancy in the House of Delegates, Democrat Sue Kullen says she has felt like a marked woman.

Republicans eager to narrow the Democratic majority in the legislature set their sights on her northern Calvert County seat early on, forcing her into a constant campaigning mode.

Meanwhile, her opponent, Calvert Commissioners President David F. Hale (R-Owings), has assembled an impressive campaign drawing on his strong name recognition after two terms on the Board of County Commissioners, most of that time as its leader. Since the Sept. 12 primary, Hale has begun his election effort in earnest, preparing television commercials, sending out mailings and placing ads in newspapers.

The result, leaders from both political parties say, will be one of the hardest-fought, most-watched and possibly closest races on Maryland's Nov. 7 ballot.

One reason the seat is important is that it is the only legislative district entirely within the bounds of Calvert County. And in the context of statewide party strategy, it is among the three or four seats held by Democrats who Republicans believe are vulnerable. If Republicans gain a few seats in November's voting, party leaders say, they could weaken the Democrats' hold on the General Assembly.

But though such statewide implications surround the race, Hale emphasized that he has run the campaign on his own terms.

"I appreciate that everyone will be reading the articles and watching poll results, but being fully funded, I don't need any state money or any state machine backing me," he said. "I'm running on what I've done as a commissioner and what I think I can bring to the job."

Hale's greatest advantage is his name recognition. As president of the Calvert commissioners, he has led televised board meetings for several years and been at the center of the county's most pressing issues.

"As president of the commissioners, your name's out there week after week," said Hagner Mister, a past commissioners president and former state agriculture secretary who considered running for the seat.

Mister, a Democrat, said Kullen's edge is the advantage of incumbency.

"She knows her way around Annapolis, and being the current delegate, that's always an advantage," he said. "What it comes down to is getting the vote out on Election Day. Getting people to the polls -- that's what's going to decide this."

Kullen was appointed to the seat in 2004 after Ehrlich chose former delegate George W. Owings III (D) to run the state Department of Veterans Affairs.