Maryland Primaries Still Not Over

Posted by on September 13, 2006 at 12:10 PM

A series of tough primaries have keep Maryland Democrats quite busy, but today they have their nominee for Senate in Rep. Ben Cardin.

From WaPo:

U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin beat out former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume to win the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, even as chaos at polling sites Tuesday delayed final results and left some other races too close to call.

With 93.3 percent of precincts reporting by 9 a.m. , Cardin had 45.8 percent of the vote and Mfume had 37.7 percent.

"I know that we are united," Cardin told the Associated Press. He said he and Mfume "ran a campaign that wasn't about our election, it was about November's election. We need to change the direction of the country. We had two people running who shared the same commitment."

Mfume had appeared before his supporters shortly after 1:30 a.m. and all but conceded the race, calling Cardin his friend and saying that "he'll be a damn good senator."

Maryland Democrats also chose John Sarbanes as their nominee for the seat vacated by Rep. Cardin. John is the son of retiring U.S. Senator Paul Sarbenes, who was recently honored by the DNC.

From The Baltimore Sun:

John P. Sarbanes, an attorney and political novice, held on to win the highly contested race for the 3rd District congressional seat this morning.

Sarbanes, the son of retiring U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, outpaced former Baltimore Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson and state Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, the only elected official among the eight Democrats vying for the nomination...

Sarbanes of Towson is an attorney at Venable LLP, where he is chairman of the health care practice. He has also been special assistant to the state superintendent of schools and is a 16-year board member of the nonprofit Public Justice Center.

He waged an aggressive campaign, raising nearly $1 million with the help of his father's extensive national network of donors, including the Greek-American community.

The quiet and deliberate Sarbanes released detailed plans on such issues as health care and education. He refrained from attacking his rivals, even when some questioned his lack of political experience and implied that he was riding on his father's coattails.

Initially, Sarbanes distanced himself from his father. But in recent weeks, the elder Sarbanes has appeared in a television commercial, a mailing and on the campaign trail.

Last night the elder Sarbanes said he hoped his political reputation had helped his son. "We represented the people for three decades, and I think they are happy with what we did," he said. "But it's his campaign, not mine. He has proven himself on his own merits in this campaign."

Elsewhere in the state, voting problems plagued Tuesday's Elections, forcing polls open later, delaying results and causing enormous frustration. As a result, Maryland's full list of nominees is not yet know.

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