WP: Sarbanes to Forego Another Senate Term

[DeepModem Mom]

Sarbanes to Forego Another Senate Term

By John Wagner and Spencer Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 12, 2005; 11:12 AM


Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes plans to announce this afternoon that he will not seek another term, Capitol Hill sources said, ending a 30-year career in the Senate and setting off a scramble among Maryland politicians who have long coveted his seat.

First elected to the Senate in 1976, Sarbanes, 72, is the longest-serving senator in Maryland history. Sarbanes has called a 1 p.m. news conference in Baltimore but has not confirmed what his announcement will be. Aides to other U.S. senators said the veteran politician will retire at the end of his current term in early 2007.

The announcement is likely to set off intense jockeying among Democrats and prompt several Maryland politicians to recalibrate their ambitions.

"You can expect a crowded Democratic primary," said James Gimpel, a political science professor at the University of Maryland. "You could have five candidates."...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26762-2005Mar11.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Five Democratic Candidates

with the most important word being "Democratic"

Maryland DUers, how's the field looking?

[freestyle]

11. I am partial to Kweisi Mfume if he decides to run.

However, Maryland has a deep bench of Democrats who could beat whatever candidate wins the republican primary. The only republicans with any statewide popularity are Ehrlich and Steele, and even their election was mostly the result of Kathleen Townsend's bad decisions, chief among them her Lt. Governor choice.

Maryland Senate elections tend to fall in the 60% Democratic candidate 40% republican candidate range, and I don't see that changing. Of the possible candidates, I think O'Malley has the most baggage, given his failure (my opinion as a resident) as mayor of Baltimore.

[GregW]

2. Gee ... does this mean we can stop doing Sarbanes-Oxley remediation work?

:shrug:

[PROGRESSIVE1]

3. Damn! Sarbanes guarenteed the seat safe. Now what...

DUer's? Who will replace him and what are his chances of winning?

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Why do Dems retire, while Repubs stay in office on their death bed???

I do wish we could keep incumbents in office -- their declining to run for re-election so often seems to lead to an (R) replacing a (D).

[bkcc]

28. I asked myself the same question.

The Republicans are much more about winning and power. If the Dems don't smarten up and realize that soon, we'll be in even worse trouble than we are.

Seriously, though...every Dem who retires or doesn't seek re-election in this political climate is just part of the problem.

[ewagner]

4. Can DU influence

the choice?

Is there a "DU Consensus Candidate"?

[davidinalameda]

6. I thought Kweisi Mfume had already announced for the seat

a while ago

[Chef]

7. Sarbanes

A great loss for Maryland and the country but, I kinda thought this would happen. I hope that Duncan will would be the candidate for governor and O'Malley for the Senate. I think that Duncan would be a stronger candidate to beat the son-of-bush Ehrlich. The Republicans usually put up some real hack to run for Senate. Maybe Pipkin again?

[ps1074]

8. I think Kweisi Mfume will run and win the open seat

I think if Mfume runs, the repubs are gonna put Alan Keyes against him :)

[kcass1954]

10. What?!? Keyes is moving again?!?

He had some nerve calling out Hillary when she ran for Sen in NY!

On edit: Mfume would be a terrific replacement!

[Comicstripper]

25. No, Keyes lives in MD. He moved to Illinois from here.

In fact, he lives in my town, Gaithersburg. I've never seen him or anything, but he does.
As far as the race, the only real election here will be the Dem. primaries. We will never elect a GOP Senator. Even this GOP Governor we have (who, by the way, will not be re-elected) was our first Republican governor in 34 years(the previous one? Fella named Spiro T. Agnew.)

[jefferson_dem]

9. Mfume? Martin O'Malley? Steny Hoyer? Elijah Cummings?

Shit! Sarbanes was such juggernaut for the cause! Who'll fill his shoes?!

[Bertha Venation]

23. Steny Hoyer's the Minority Whip and a very strong presence in the House

I can't think of what is more important: Steny stays in the House or Steny is elected to the Senate.

Also I live in Hoyer's district and there's a lot of conservatism out there. Would hate to see MD-5 go Republican.

[Comicstripper]

26. I hadn't thought of Hoyer....

I know he declined to run for governor, but Senator Hoyer has a nice ring to it...

[SaveElmer]

12. "Sen. Sarbanes to Forgo Another Term" - Wash Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Gives O'Malley and Duncan something else to think about!

[WI_DEM]

13. Darn

Another incumbent on our side not running.

[Tweed]

14. who else is not running?

[wildflower]

16. There's Dayton (MN)

I'm not sure who else.

-wildflower

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

19. No worries. This is MD.

Only if Ehrlich tries to get it will there be any notion of a problem keeping this seat, and even then, I tend to doubt it.

[AndyTiedye]

24. But Maryland Has Diebold Republican Electing Machinez!

If they can make it look close enough, they will steal it.

According to county election officials and other sources, all Maryland voting machines have been on "lockdown" since November 2, 2004 due to statewide machine failures. Unable to explain the problems at its in-state location, Diebold has sent MD machines to multiple locations around the country for further analysis. "Given official statements that the November 2004 election went smoothly, these revelations suggest that there has been a cover-up by Diebold and Md's State Board of Elections. That is why TrueVoteMd.org is calling for an immediate independent investigation and de-certification of the Diebold machines, as is required by MD law when voting systems fail to count votes accurately. Maryland voters have had enough of the fox guarding the henhouse," said Linda Schade, Co-Founder of TrueVoteMD.org.
http://www.truevotemd.org/Press_releases/html/2005-03-08_Press_Release.html

[Bertha Venation]

15. Whattya wanna bet Pipkin makes another run at it?

He tried to unseat Barb Mikulski last year. His commercials did little but to reveal what a "family values" whore/asshole he is. He's all about $$$$$$$$$$$. Prick.

[Bleacher Creature]

22. Bet -- No. Pray -- hell yes!!!

I am a Marylander and Pipkin would be a dream candidate. If he is the nominee, then the Dems can basically select anyone they want and use their resorces and attention to focus on beating the crap out of Bob "Sinclair" Ehrlich.

[Gulf Coast J]

17. Maybe Keyes can run again

That would be entertaining.

I wouldn't worry about MD. It's probably safe.

[CBHagman]

18. Sarbanes is definitely one of the good ones.

I am truly proud to have Sarbanes as my senior senator. He's principled, level-headed, and low-key. I'm extremely sorry to see him go.

That said, the possibility of an open seat raises interesting possibilities. Kweisi Mfume, Chris Van Hollen, Mark Shriver, Doug Duncan, and Martin O'Malley are probably all mulling this over. Well, maybe not Van Hollen; he's only in his second term in Congress. But I hope to see him in the Senate someday.

[OnBackground]

20. Next!

Sen. Sarbanes announcement does, indeed, make for an exciting 2006 race, for a change. While I share the skepticism that this will be competitive in the general, the primary should feature a number of potentially strong candidates including the people previously mentioned, plus Rep. Elijah Cummings.

[TygrBright]

21. Good replacements or not...

...this is a real tragedy. Sarbanes is not only one of the most consistent "good guys" in the Senate, he is one of the few who can stand up to the financial disservices ghouls with any muscle.

His leadership on banking and corporate responsibility issues will be deeply missed.

He is no one's bought-and-paid-for shill, and he really represents not just his constituents in Maryland, but the interests of average Americans everywhere, with dignity and principle. He is a model of what a Senator should be.

I'm just heartbroken that we're losing him. Mikulski is a frail reed compared to him, she has frequently carried water for money. She seems to be getting better, but it is doubtful she can fill those shoes.

The only consolation is that there is, indeed, a decent slate of replacements to choose from. And that slimy toad, Pipkin, hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell against any of them.

regretfully,
Bright

[nickshepDEM]

27. Here are the possible Democratic candidates...

All of which can beat any Republican candidate. Although, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele or Rep. Wayne Gilchrest could make things pretty interesting.

Here are the possible Democratic candidates:

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley
MoCo County Executive Doug Duncan
Rep. Ben Cardin
Rep. Elijah Cummings
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer
Former NAACP President Kwesi Mfume

[Nancy Waterman]

29. Sarbanes to Forgo Another Term

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26762-2005Mar11.html

Now we have two big races in Maryland coming up in 2006. We have to dump Ehrlich and get a good replacement for Sarbanes.