Md. Democrats Fight to Hold Senate Seat

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060908/D8K0RCO01.html

Md. Democrats Fight to Hold Senate Seat
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Sep 8, 2:28 PM (ET)

By KRISTEN WYATT

ALISBURY, Md. (AP) - Often when the dust settles on a Democratic Senate primary in Maryland, the hard work is done and the winner can expect to roll over the Republican in the fall. Not this time.

The two main candidates in Tuesday's primary, bookish congressman Ben Cardin and flamboyant civil rights figure Kweisi Mfume, are fighting over who will take on a rising Republican star with the distinction of being the first black to win statewide office in Maryland.

Despite the embarrassment of criticizing Republicans, then calling President Bush his "homeboy," GOP Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is considered a strong contender in a state that is two-thirds Democratic and almost one-third black.


Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls, from left, Corrogan R. Vaughn, Daniel "Wig Man" Vovak and Lih Young are shown during a debate, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006, in Baltimore. Maryland voters have a figurative buffet of Senate candidates to choose from in next week's primaries, when 29 candidates vie to replace retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes. D-Md., More than a dozen of the candidates, including the three shown here, toook part in the debate in Baltimore Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)


More than a dozen Democrats are vying for the nomination to replace Sen. Paul Sarbanes, who is retiring after five terms. Cardin has led Mfume in polls and money, but the race remains competitive.

FULL story at link above.

[AX10]

1. Democrats will hold this seat. Cardin is stronger though.

Mfume will have to fight harder than Cardin does. Either one should win.

[bertha katzenengel]

2. Kweisi Mfume is "flamboyant?" This article paints him as if he were

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. :eyes: Reminds me of a Washington Times article a week or two ago in which Mfume's former positions -- former Congressman, former leader of the NAACP, etc. -- were minimized while Cardin's were emphasized. :grr:

BTW, next Tuesday I'll be casting my vote for the only viable Democratic candidate who stands for gay marriage: Kweisi Mfume.

[savemefromdumbya]

4. flamboyant?

Kweisi (whom I have met) is a very capable person.

[bertha katzenengel]

5. I haven't met him, but I've read a lot about him, have heard him

speak, etc. I will vote for him. My hopes are not high, though.

[jackpan1260]

3. Mfume is behind Steele in some recent polls

that's a scary thought.

What is up with "wig man?"

[davidinalameda]

6. poor wardrobe choice?

:shrug:

[w4rma]

7. Black folks don't vote for black folks just because they are black.

In fact, African-Americans appear to be, in general, very good at separating out the BS in politics.

[expatriot]

8. I want to know more about wig man, he intrigues me. nt.

[expatriot]

9. Here is a letter from Wig Man to fellow Republicans...

Dear fellow Republican:

I am running for U.S. Senate because Maryland needs a moderate senator to balance the liberal (but warm) personality of Senator Barbara Mikulski with the conservative regions of our state. It will be my joy to serve as a statesman, highlighting the Whig roots of the Republican Party. Do not fret over what the wig does for me, but imagine how Maryland benefits from its media flare, a tool Senator Paul Sarbanes humbly never used.

Over the past twenty-five years, Maryland has had the worst record in the United States of electing statewide Republican candidates. (Reagan '84, Bush '88, and Ehrlich '02 are the exceptions.) Michael Steele is a likely loser in November because he is arrogant, lazy, and has bad judgment. Instead of living with Steele's curse and watching him flip-flop, Maryland needs a senator who wants change and yet who has the courage to make a difference.

Respectfully,
Daniel R. Vovak,
Maryland's only Republican U.S. Senate candidate
who can win in November.

http://www.vovak.politicalgateway.com/cand.php?id=305

[momster]

11. *The* Wig Man is Suing

the state board of elections because the ballot says Daniel "Wig Man" Voich, instead of Daniel "The Wig Man" Voich. He feels that this will confuse too many voters and he won't get the votes he deserves.

[momster]

10. Lih Young is a Democrat --

She's a out from left field candidate but she's definitely one of ours. At least, she was yesterday when I saw her at a Democrat meeting.

[High Plains]

12. There is also a third party candidate running.

Or actually, a third and fourth party candidate. Kevin Zeese, http://www.kevinzeese.com/, has the nomination of the Greens and the Libertarians and is running on a harsh critique of the Iraq war, US foreign policy, corporate politics, and the war on drugs.

If Democrats don't embrace these issues, people will split off.

I don't know how much damage Zeese can do.