EARLY VOTING NUMBERS: With two more days left to go, more than 90,000 people have voted early for next Tuesday’s primary, surpassing the numbers who cast their ballots early in the 2010 and 2012 primaries. The legislature added two more days to the early voting period this year. It now will last eight days, until Thursday at 8 p.m., writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com.
- Early voting in Maryland shows modest increases in an election year when some polls suggest strong public apathy for some races, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections, writes Bryan Sears for the Daily Record. Over the first five days of early voting this year, 71,159 Maryland residents cast ballots — a turnout of 2.1% according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.
CARDIN YANKS SUIT: A lawsuit filed Monday by Del. Jon Cardin was withdrawn the same day after a political action committee filed required campaign finance reports. Cardin, the leading candidate for attorney general, filed the motion withdrawing his lawsuit after Marylanders for Integrity in Government filed a report listing its donors and expenditures, reports Bryan Sears for the Daily Record.
FROSH VS. A NAME: Family name vs. resume. That is what the race for the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s attorney general boils down to, says McDaniel College political science professor Herb Smith in a WMAR report.
- In the AG’s race, writes Blair Lee for the Gazette, the establishment candidate, Brian Frosh, is trailing, an exact opposite scenario of what is happening in the governor’s race. But as much as the establishment is circling around Frosh, he’s still struggling.
NEXT GOVERNOR WILL STEP INTO IT: Bob Gallagher and Joanna Diamond, of Maryland Clean Agriculture Coalition, write in an op-ed for the Sun that it’s not easy telling the next governor of Maryland that he or she needs to start thinking right now about manure, but the winner of this fall’s election won’t have any time to waste. Toxic algal blooms and intersex fish are two examples of the threat the agriculture industry poses.
MIZEUR AND POSSIBILITIES: In the sixth in a series of gubernatorial candidate profiles in the Sun, Erin Cox writes that not long into her campaign for governor, Democrat Heather Mizeur coined a response to the question still dogging her today: Can she win? To the pundits and the radio hosts, to donors and supporters across the state, to everyone who says she’s an intriguing choice but seems a long shot, Mizeur gives the same optimistic answer: “This campaign is about breaking the illusion of impossibility.”
GANSLER EMBRACES BLUNTNESS: With the primary a week away, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Gansler has made what his campaign calls his “closing argument” in two new television ads. In one of the ads, Gansler addresses and spins his reputation for bluntness, reports Jeff Barker for the Sun.
RODRICKS INTERVIEWS GUB CANDIDATES: Dan Rodricks of WYPR-FM has begun a series of discussions with the gubernatorial candidates. We’ll post the links as the podcasts come on line.
- Charles Lollar is a U.S. Marine Corps. officer, a former Tea Party activist, a businessman, and an ordained preacher. His top, would-be top priorities if elected governor: Eliminating the personal income tax and the estate tax, lowering the corporate income tax, and rolling back the sales tax.
- Del. Heather Mizeur supports marijuana legalization and an increase in the state’s minimum wage to $16.70.
- Ron George is a two-term Maryland State House delegate from Anne Arundel County. Among his top, would-be priorities: Decrease the tax burden on small-to-midsize businesses.
LEGISLATIVE RACES: Barry Rascovar of Political Maryland and Len Lazarick, editor and publisher of Maryland Reporter, join Dan Rodricks of WYPR-FM examined the legislative races in the Baltimore region, Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. They were be joined by journalists from the Sun, the Capital and the Frederick News-Post who have been closely covering these races.
DISTRICT 4: Maryland’s most populous counties lean liberal, while some smaller counties sway conservative. Thus, Democrats have a big advantage in the legislature and, for Republicans, reaching across the aisle is essential in Maryland politics to get laws passed, writes Rachel Roubein for the Carroll County Times. Five Republicans are running for House of Delegates in District 4, and voters can select three candidates in the June 24 primary to move on to the November general election. One Democrat is running unopposed.
DISTRICT 26: Incumbent state Sen. Anthony Muse is facing a challenge from two very strong contenders, writes Margaret Sessa-Hawkins for MarylandReporter.com. One is Brian Woolfolk, a staffer on Capitol Hill for over 20 years. The other is state Del. Veronica Turner, who has served in House of Delegates for 12 years.
DISTRICT 41: A week before Maryland’s primary elections, prosecutors in Texas are seeking to extradite a Baltimore candidate for state Senate on a felony charge of theft, reports Luke Broadwater for the Sun. Will Hanna, 43, who is challenging Sen. Lisa Gladden in the Democratic primary for the 41st Senate District, is accused of stealing a car six years ago from an attorney in Guadalupe County, Texas. (Editor’s Note: After an endorsement rally for AG candidate Jon Cardin last week, Hanna, was spotted driving on Main Street in Annapolis in a car with a large campaign sign on the door — and a Pennsylvania license plate.)
CONGRESSIONAL 8TH: George English is a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maryland’s 8th District. The primary election is June 24. In this Q&A with the Frederick News Post, he explains his concerns about the direction Montgomery County is taking and why he is running for Congress.
MORE BACK NEUMAN, SCHUH: Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman and Del. Steve Schuh have picked up more endorsements in their bids for Anne Arundel County’s top job, reports Rema Rahman for the Annapolis Capital. Del. Cathy Vitale endorsed Neuman Monday, while Schuh announced three more supporters Friday.
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