Governor's Campaign Ellen Sauerbrey celebrates victory at BWI Marriott. (Mark Gail - The Post) Update After an long victory celebration, Gov. Parris N. Glendening postponed a morning appearance with U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and spent the day with his wife, Frances Anne, who was undergoing minor foot surgery in Prince George’s County, campaign spokesman Peter Hamm said. The governor’s public campaign is slated to resume Friday afternoon with a rally at the United Auto Workers Hall in Baltimore. Republican nominee Ellen R. Sauerbrey opened the day at a party unity breakfast in Annapolis that drew scores of GOP candidates and activists, then followed with an afternoon news conference in which attacked the governor on several issues, including what she has said is his inefficient spending on prison construction. Her schedule for the rest of the week is still being revised, campaign spokesman Jim Dornan said. – John P. Martin

By Daniel LeDuc
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 1998; Page A1

Democratic Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Republican challenger Ellen R. Sauerbrey decisively won their parties' nominations for governor of Maryland yesterday, setting up two old foes for what promises to be a contentious rematch of their contest four years ago.

The primary victories marked the start of a general election campaign offering voters a clear choice for governor, between a Democrat who has boosted spending on education and a Republican best known for her advocacy of smaller government and tax cuts. Polls suggest it could be a competitive contest, and antipathy between the candidates dates to their 1994 race, which Sauerbrey lost by only 5,993 votes.

An absence of tightly contested races for Maryland's top seats meant yesterday's primaries did not ignite widespread interest among many voters, although there were a handful of upsets and some signs of voter discontent with incumbents across the state.

In one of the most closely watched local races, former federal prosecutor Douglas F. Gansler defeated Montgomery County State's Attorney Robert L. Dean in the Democratic primary. Dean had been considered vulnerable after acknowledging last week that he had a "personal relationship" with a former assistant, who filed a sex discrimination lawsuit after being fired.

In the Republican primary for Howard county executive, County Council member Dennis R. Schrader defeated council colleague Charles C. Feaga. Schrader, a vice president of the University of Maryland Medical System, will face Democrat James Robey, a former county police chief, in a November contest to head one of the state's wealthiest and fastest-growing jurisdictions.

U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D) breezed to victory in her primary campaign, and former governor William Donald Schaefer returned to elective politics by securing the Democratic nomination for state comptroller. Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and Prince George's County Executive Wayne K. Curry, both Democrats, also easily won renomination. Curry's victory means a second term is assured, since he faces no Republican in the November general election.

Gov. Glendening (right) introduces comptroller candidate William Donald Schaefer (left) at a victory party as Attorney General candidate Joe Curran looks on. (By Michael Williamson - The Washington Post)

In the governor's race, the two victors appeared last night before supporters and laid out what could be major themes of their general election campaigns. Glendening suggested that he will continue his attacks on Sauerbrey as being too conservative for Maryland. Sauerbrey spoke of her continuing effort to cut taxes and said her mission is to "restore trust, integrity and commitment to principle to Maryland's government."

Glendening told supporters in College Park that "a clear choice is approaching" for Maryland voters. "I disagree with the path our opponent wants to take, and I will fight every day to keep this state moving forward," he said.

Sauerbrey appeared at a hotel near Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Linthicum after soundly trouncing primary opponent Charles I. Ecker, the outgoing Howard county executive.

"We're one step closer to completing that 24 percent tax cut we started working on four years ago," Sauerbrey said. "We're a step closer so that retirees can live in Maryland and don't have to move to Florida to have a better standard of living."

While Glendening and Sauerbrey handily won yesterday, there were omens of difficulties for both as the campaign continues. Although Glendening scored a decisive victory, there was an apparent protest vote for two of his challengers. Sauerbrey's hand-picked choice for comptroller, Michael Steele, lost in the Republican primary, suggesting that her influence over the GOP may not be as strong as she'd like.

Two moderate Republican state senators were defeated by more conservative challengers, including the GOP leader in the Senate. Andrew Harris, an anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, beat Senate Minority Leader Vernon Boozer in Baltimore County after campaigning almost entirely on the abortion issue. In Frederick County, Alexander Mooney, a former congressional aide, beat Sen. John W. Derr.

Turnout is traditionally light in off-year primaries in Maryland, and there did not appear to be any dramatic drop-off stemming from the turmoil surrounding President Clinton's affair with Monica S. Lewinsky. Still, the scandal was on voters' minds, especially among the Democratic loyalists who turn out for primaries.

"It's probably going to hurt Democrats, and it's going to help Republicans," said Patty Johnson, 39, a teacher from Brinklow, after she voted for Glendening in Olney. "What Clinton has done is not looked upon favorably by anyone."

The impact of the president's troubles is a wild card for Glendening and Sauerbrey, strategists in both campaigns agreed. The governor has distanced himself from Clinton; Glendening dropped a planned fund-raiser with the president and did not appear with him when Clinton appeared recently in Montgomery County.

Clara Ravner, 82, who lives at the Leisure World retirement community in Silver Spring, voted for Glendening because "I think he's done a good job." She said did not believe that his backing away from Clinton would hurt the governor's campaign, because "a lot of people are disgusted with Clinton."

But Ravner said the whole presidential scandal could wind up hurting Democrats in November. "It has to," she said. "His actions are purely despicable. It can't help but make people disgusted."

Glendening, who has enjoyed the benefits of incumbency and a booming state economy, had received an early challenge for the Democratic nomination from two potentially strong opponents, but they dropped out of the race. He is now campaigning hard on his record as a self-described progressive with increased state spending on school construction, health care for poor children, new gun restrictions and toughened environmental regulations.

Glendening defeated little-known challengers Terence McGuire, a Davidsonville physician, and Lawrence K. Freeman, an educator from Catonsville.

Still, it was an unusually bumpy ride for an incumbent in a state enjoying good economic times.

Glendening was challenged early in the year by Ray Schoenke, a Washington Redskins player turned insurance executive, who poured $2 million of his fortune into his campaign. Despite a wave of expensive commercials touting his athletic and business achievements, Schoenke never progressed in the polls, and by July he dropped out and threw his support to the governor.

Even more troublesome to Glendening was an challenge from Eileen M. Rehrmann, the Harford county executive. Although Rehrmann dropped out of the campaign in August, past the deadline for removing her name from yesterday's ballot, she was winning roughly 15 percent of the vote, with about four-fifths of state precincts counted last night.

Two of Maryland's top African American politicians had lined up behind Rehrmann: Curry and Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. Their defections were not just a political embarrassment for Glendening, who has long enjoyed strong support among black voters; they had a practical downside as well: Both men control political organizations that could be helpful to the governor.

In backing Rehrmann, Schmoke, a onetime Glendening ally, and Curry, a longtime Glendening antagonist, attacked the governor's veracity.

Schmoke declared that Glendening, in a private conversation, had promised support for bringing slot machines to Baltimore to help raise money for public schools. Glendening insisted that he never made any such commitment, and indeed he has become a harsh opponent of any expansion of gambling in Maryland. Rehrmann, meanwhile, strongly supported bringing slots to Maryland's horse racing tracks.

Curry complained that Glendening, who was Prince George's county executive for 12 years before becoming governor, had left the county in dire financial straits. Glendening strongly denied that he left Prince George's in a lurch, and he cited his efforts as governor to provide more education assistance for the county.

The two endorsements gave Rehrmann status as the top challenger to Glendening for the Democratic nomination. But although Schmoke held a lucrative fund-raiser for her and Curry paid for a series of tough radio commercials attacking Glendening, Rehrmann's campaign never seemed to galvanize voters.

"Governor Glendening averted a potentially divisive primary, which was a major accomplishment, " said Herb Smith, chairman of the Political Science Department at Western Maryland College. "He has proven to be a very adept campaigner in Democratic primaries. That used to be all you needed" in Democrat-dominated Maryland. "But we're in a new era now. General election skills are important. You're communicating with a broader audience."

Given the leads Glendening and Sauerbrey had going into yesterday's primaries, the general election campaign, in effect, began with Rehrmann's exit from the race.

Sauerbrey, who built a reputation as an ardent conservative from Baltimore County, had been the front-runner for the GOP nomination since her close loss four years ago. She has crisscrossed Maryland ever since, solidifying her support among core GOP voters and gaining support from many in the business community who have been embracing her proposed tax cuts. She staved off a weak challenge from Ecker, who held himself out as a moderate alternative to Sauerbrey.

Sauerbrey, the former House minority leader, is a longtime conservative in a predominantly Democratic state, although she has tried to moderate her image for this campaign.

Her cruise to victory was a marked change from the GOP primary four years ago. Then, she seemingly came out of nowhere in the final few weeks, running an aggressive grass-roots campaign that toppled the presumed front-runner, then-U.S. Rep. Helen Delich Bentley.

The centerpiece of Sauerbrey's campaign four years ago was a call for a 24 percent cut in the state income tax. This time around, she is waging a more sophisticated, media-driven campaign, emphasizing a different kind of tax cut – a break for Maryland retirees.

"I like her position on taxes," said nightclub manager David Fatherlos, shortly after voting for Sauerbrey at Crofton Elementary School. "She just seems to be more for economic growth. Socially, she doesn't come off as bad as people think."