MD. GOVERNOR'S RACE
O'Malley Might Face Democratic Challenger
George W. Owings III served in the House of Delegates and was secretary of veterans affairs.
(2004 Photo By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Thursday, May 7, 2009
George W. Owings III, a former state secretary of veterans affairs and former legislator from Southern Maryland, said yesterday that he is giving "serious consideration" to challenging Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in next year's Democratic primary.
"A lot of working-class Democrats I run into have concerns about the direction the state is going," said Owens, adding that he expects to make a decision on running within 60 days.
Owings served for 16 years as a Democratic delegate, rising to majority whip, before he was tapped in 2004 for the Cabinet of Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the state's first Republican chief executive in a generation. Owings was replaced by O'Malley four months into his administration in 2007.
Owings is positioning himself as a conservative alternative to O'Malley, but voters in Democratic primaries tend to be more liberal than the party as a whole. Owings acknowledged he could face long odds. "I'm reminded of the odds that were given to Barack Obama and the odds that were given to putting a man on the moon," he said.
Owings was highly critical of a $1.4 billion tax increase shepherded through the legislature by O'Malley in 2007 to help address a large potential budget shortfall, saying it "had a real impact on working families."
O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese declined to comment directly on Owings, saying: "There will be a lot of speculation over the coming months over who may or may not run for governor. In the meantime, we're continuing to focus on putting Maryland families first in these tough economic times."
On the Republican side, Ehrlich has signaled that he will make a decision in several months about whether to seek a rematch with O'Malley next year. Mike Pappas, a party activist from Baltimore County, has launched an exploratory committee.
