Sen. Nancy King
Seven members of the Maryland Senate, three Republicans and four Democrats, are getting a free ride to reelection, with no opponents in either the primary or general election.
Tuesday was the deadline for party Central Committees to fill vacancies in races where candidates had no opponents. A few senators and delegates did pick up opponents nominated by their parties.
The three Republican senators with no opposition are George Edwards, District 1 representing Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties; Chris Shank of District 2 in Washington County; and Ed Reilly of District 33 in Anne Arundel County. CORRECTED 3/6/2014, 7:45 p.m.: The four Democratic senators running totally unopposed are Bobby Zirkin of Baltimore County District 11; Jim Rosapepe of Prince George’s County District 21; Sen. Nancy King, Montgomery County District 39; and Sen. Catherine Pugh, Baltimore City District 40.
Sen. Roger Manno of District 19 in Montgomery County at the last minute picked up Republican opponent Felix Ed Gonzalez.
Rupli a blast from the past
The winner of the hotly contest primary to unseat Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley in District 4 by Del. Michael Hough will face a Democratic blast from the past, Dan Rupli, who ran for Congress twice in the 1970s was and was general counsel to Gov. Parris Glendening.
Dan Rupli was drafted by Democrats to run for Senate in District 4.
Rupli was drafted and nominated by the party, and he wrote in an email that
Brinkley “has been known to be fairly moderate in his thinking, and has occasionally worked with the Democrats on budgetary issues and other legislative initiatives. His young opponent in the Republican Primary, Delegate Michael Hough, is a radical Tea Party activist who opposes women’s reproductive rights, denies global warming, hates Obamacare, and the full litany of Tea party craziness.
“Most political pundits believe that the Republicans will have a very bloody primary in this State Senate race, that my eventual opponent may be pretty roughed up as he approaches the general election in the fall, and that the local Republicans may end up bitter and divided in the aftermath. Hough is already employing the same sleazy campaign tactics against Brinkley that were perfected by his mentor, Alex X. Mooney, a protégé of Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff. Hough also enjoys a considerable fundraising advantage over Brinkley, and he may well succeed in being the Republican nominee in the fall.
“So there you have it. … I truly believe that if l had failed to answer my Party’s call, a radical Tea Party extremist might well run unopposed in November, and I find that eventuality to be completely unthinkable and unacceptable.”
–Len Lazarick
Len@MarylandReporter.com
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