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U.S. Senate, Governor Candidates Rush to Court Black Vote
Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson, left, supports U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Benjamin Cardin (D), center.
(By Michael Robinson Chavez -- The Washington Post)
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They also questioned the way party leadership rallied behind Cardin's candidacy over primary challenger and former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume.
"The party acts as though when they want our opinion, they'll give it to us," Curry said during a news conference Monday.
But some Democratic leaders have questioned the group's motives, insisting that its members were motivated largely by their own ambitions, endorsing Steele to bolster their own reputations as county power brokers.
"When Wayne Curry expresses concern about how the African American community is being treated, he generally has one particular person in mind first," said former state delegate and longtime activist Timothy F. Maloney, who called the news conference a "cocktail party talk among 10 or 15 people trying to get attention for themselves."
According to a Washington Post poll concluded days before the endorsement announcement, black voters favored Cardin and O'Malley by more than 80 percent. They also were far more critical of President Bush's performance and much more likely to rank Iraq as their top issue -- both factors that could boost black voter turnout this year.
But Cardin has been taking no chances, campaigning daily in Prince George's this week and touting his support from other black leaders, including Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) and County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D). Cardin started early yesterday, greeting voters at a Metro station in New Carrollton with Johnson and concluding the day with an rally at Johnson's campaign headquarters in Largo.
"He's going to be living in Prince George's County," joked Johnson, who has been exhorting crowds to remind their neighbors of the issues that brought them to the party in the first place.
Peggy Yates, 64, of Fort Washington said she does not need to be reminded. Cardin and O'Malley can count on her vote, she said.
"I just don't understand how these council members and Wayne Curry can support Steele," Yates said.
Thomasyne Anderson, 47, said she hasn't changed her opinion in the past week either. She's voting Democratic.
"Even if that were the case, that the Democratic Party was taking the black vote for granted, that would not be a reason to vote Republican," Anderson said. "There is the war. There is health care. There is education. Especially education. . . . The direction the Republican Party has taken this country in is abominable."
But there are signs that Curry's stand may have an impact on some voters.
