By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Incumbent Democrats in Southern Maryland's most-watched contests rode a national political wave favoring their party to beat back fierce challenges from Republicans as unofficial results late last night showed them cruising to reelection.

In Charles County, Wayne Cooper (D), president of the Board of County Commissioners, defeated challenger Al Smith (R), a commissioner who waged a spirited campaign.

In a hotly contested race that pitted the scions of two influential political families in St. Mary's County against each other, state Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D) overwhelmed Thomas F. McKay (R), the Board of County Commissioners president.

And in Calvert County, Del. Sue Kullen (D) held on to her District 27B seat with a commanding lead over Republican David Hale, president of the Board of County Commissioners. All votes had been counted in the three counties last night.

Cooper defeated Smith by nearly 15 percentage points. The bitter race between Cooper and Smith for Charles's top elected post had centered on the candidates' leadership styles as well as on education, growth and public safety.

Cooper, 59, highlighted his experience as chairman of the Board of Education from 1999 to 2002 as evidence that he would best be able to maintain county schools' quality. Smith, 62, made public safety his top priority, promising to fully fund the sheriff's budget above all else.

Cooper campaigned as an advocate of smart growth and made it a priority to woo high-tech jobs. Smith pledged to slow growth and preserve the county's rural character.

The relationship between the two commissioners soured as they attacked each other's character and personality.

Smith's flamboyance and outspokenness drew attention in his campaign, and at polling places he showed off his cowboy boots and hat. "These boots are made for walking, and they're for kicking you-know-what. Yahoo!" he told voters in Waldorf yesterday.

In the St. Mary's Senate race, Dyson won with 65 percent of the vote to McKay's 35 percent. McKay was hopeful that an increasingly conservative electorate in District 29 would deliver Republicans a seat they have fought hard to pick up. But voters instead returned Dyson to Annapolis.

McKay, 49, whose father ran unsuccessfully against Dyson in 1994, had his party's support, and the state GOP helped him significantly outpace Dyson in fundraising.

But for McKay, it was an uphill struggle from the beginning. Dyson, 57, is one of Southern Maryland's political titans. He has served in public office on and off since being elected in 1974 to the House of Delegates at 25. His family's ties in St. Mary's date to 1685, but the McKay family's roots run nearly as deep.

In Calvert, Kullen foiled another potential GOP pickup, retaining her District 27B seat. She withstood what was expected to be a strong challenge from Hale in the GOP-leaning county.

Kullen won 57 percent of the vote to Hale's 43 percent. Hale, 42, entered the race with considerable name recognition and fundraising prowess. Republicans believed Kullen, 46, would be vulnerable, but she ran a strong grass-roots campaign and frequently stumped with popular Democrats such as House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer.

Several other contests had surprising results. Democrats swept all three delegate seats in Charles's District 28. Dels. Sally Y. Jameson (D) and Murray Levy (D) won. Democrat Peter Murphy edged Del. William Daniel Mayer (R) for the third seat.

Democrats won all five Charles commissioner seats. In District 1, Commissioner Candice Quinn Kelly (R-La Plata), who many expected to win handily, struggled as Democrat Sam Graves beat her by 12 percentage points.

Charles Sheriff Frederick E. Davis (R) lost his bid for a fourth term by about 4,000 votes to Democrat Rex Wayne Coffey.

New members will occupy a majority of the seven seats on the Charles Board of Education. Two incumbents were defeated, and two did not seek reelection.

St. Mary's Sheriff David D. Zylak (D) lost to Republican Tim Cameron by 12 percentage points. In the race to replace McKay as commissioners president, Democrat Jack Russell defeated Republican Joseph B. Bush Sr. 66.8 percent to 33.2 percent.

In Calvert's contentious race for state's attorney, Laura L. Martin (R) edged incumbent Greg Wells (D) by about 5 percentage points. In the county sheriff's race, Mike Evans (R) won reelection, defeating Joey McKenny (D) 56.6 percent to 43.4 percent.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and Republican Senate candidate Michael S. Steele defeated their opponents in Calvert and St. Mary's. Ehrlich's Democratic rival, Martin O'Malley, won in Charles, as did Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, the Democratic Senate candidate.