Cardin, O'Malley Win in Statewide Democratic Wave

On Monday, Democratic leaders upbraided Ehrlich and Steele for fliers that suggested that the two Republicans had gained endorsements from three black, Democratic leaders.

Anger over the fliers compounded yesterday, when Democrats discovered that the GOP campaigns had bused in poll workers from Philadelphia to pass out the literature at voting precincts in Prince George's County and Baltimore.

Although both contests remained competitive, the general anti-Republican mood pervading the nation began to weigh on Ehrlich and Steele, who tried to tap national GOP connections for money while trying to avoid an affiliation with Washington as the climate worsened for their party.

"It's been a huge obstacle for them," said Ronald Walters, a politics professor at the University of Maryland at College Park. "The war, especially, has been made it very hard for either of them to pick up traction in this environment."

Voters who said the Iraq war was extremely important to their decision supported Cardin by a 3-1 ratio, exit polling showed.

The governor's major advantages during the campaign were tied to his incumbency. For one, he spent most of his time on the road as Gov. Ehrlich, not candidate Ehrlich. Miller, the state Senate president, said that "four years of handing out grants and cutting ribbons" helped Ehrlich maintain high marks for popularity in opinion polls.

His stature also helped him raise more campaign cash than O'Malley, taking in what insiders said was roughly $18 million. O'Malley's fundraising consultant said she expects him to reach about $14 million in donations.

The money edge helped him keep his advertising on television for months. He put up a barrage of ads highlighting crime and low-performing schools in Maryland's largest city. That enabled him to turn the governor's race into a referendum on the two candidates' records, saying he had been an agent of change in Annapolis while Baltimore had languished.

As a result, despite holding a consistent lead in polls, O'Malley often appeared on the defensive, trying to persuade state voters that he had a solid record of progress tackling urban woes. At the same time, he attempted to portray Ehrlich as out of touch with working-class families.

Against this backdrop, the governor's former political partner launched his campaign for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D).

Steele, the former chairman of the state GOP, campaigned as an independent force who would stand up to both parties. He showcased his charismatic personality more than any specific policy issue as he tried to sway black Democrats to ditch their traditional party affiliation.

Throughout the campaign, Steele, who has just four years in elective office, tried to turn his opponent's combined 40 years in Annapolis and Washington against him. He cast Cardin as an insider incapable of changing the status quo on Capitol Hill and out of touch with "real people."

Cardin, in turn, tried to make the contest a referendum on Bush and the war. Perhaps the most pivotal weapon in Cardin's arsenal was his initial vote against sending troops to Iraq. In his commercials, mailings and appearances, he told voters he "stood up to President Bush on the war" and reminded them that Steele had consistently supported the war. He painted Steele -- accurately -- as a man recruited and partially bankrolled by the president's allies.

The two marquee races overshadowed several down-ticket contests that ushered a new set of leaders into some of the state's key posts.

Franchot (D), a state delegate from Takoma Park, charged into the general election after an unexpected primary win over incumbent William Donald Schaefer, the former Baltimore mayor and two-term governor widely viewed as the state's political patriarch. He faced Anne M. McCarthy (R), the first woman dean of the University of Baltimore's business school.

Gansler, the Montgomery County state's attorney, ran to replace 20-year Democratic incumbent J. Joseph Curran Jr. as attorney general, pledging to put the office in a more aggressive posture to fight environmental crime and white-collar fraud. His opponent, Frederick County State's Attorney Scott L. Rolle (R), campaigned as a crime fighter who would use the statewide post to toughen laws for sex offenders.

In Montgomery, Leggett will replace longtime County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), after defeating Republican Chuck Floyd and Independent Robin Ficker. Leggett's election, along with Johnson's reelection in Prince George's, means African Americans will run two of the state's most populous counties.

In Anne Arundel, the longtime sheriff, George F. Johnson IV (D), was in a tight race with maverick Republican Del. John R. Leopold. In Howard County, council member Ken Ulman (D-West Columbia) defeated council Chairman Christopher J. Merdon (R-Northeast County) and independent candidate C. Stephen Wallis in a contest for county executive that also centered on growth.