Election 2014: Endless campaign has begun for statewide hopefuls

This new monthly roundup covers Maryland election news in July for statewide, congressional and executive races. For General Assembly races, visit the roundup we ran Monday. It covered only candidates who had announced or filed in June and July, but since several people messaged about candidates who filed or announced earlier than that, those names have been added as well.

The race for governor

Gubernatorial candidates are considering next year’s early primary date when they decide when to start campaigning, reports Ryan Marshall of The Gazette.

The Baltimore Sun editorial board offers a look at the gubernatorial race so far. Jennifer Shutt of The Salisbury Daily Times features videos from gubernatorial candidates at the end of a piece about the Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Crisfield. Red Maryland also offers interviews on the gubernatorial race from the crab feast.

GOP RACE: WYPR’s Fraser Smith and Baltimore Sun’s Michael Dresser discuss Harford County Executive David Craig’s Republican candidacy for governor. Craig is calling on the Maryland General Assembly to repeal the “rain tax,” which raises money for stormwater management, reports the Hagerstown-Herald Mail in Political Notes.

Craig also announced his lieutenant governor pick in mid-month, choosing Del. Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio (she is planning to go by Haddaway in the race), reports Erin Cox in the Baltimore Sun. Haddaway, 36, adds generational and gender balance to the ticket, reports John Wagner for The Washington Post. Few from the Eastern Shore have tried for statewide office, reports Jennifer Shutt in the Salisbury Daily Times. Josh Bollinger of the Star Democrat has more on the announcement. WYPR’s Fraser Smith and Salisbury Daily Times’ Jennifer Shutt discuss Craig’s choice of a running mate.

UPDATED: Del. Ron George, an announced candidate for governor, has been out and about all over the state, talking about his family,  business background and his 10-point policy plan in a visit to Dorchester County in this piece by Gail Dean from the My Eastern Shore News online. In late June, he pledged that he would have no new taxes and repeal most of those that have recently passed.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Charles Lollar will formally start campaigning as early as September with a statewide bus tour, reports John Wagner in The Washington Post.

Lollar, an African American businessman and officer in the Marine Corps Reserve, said the party needs “a refreshing new face and tone of leadership.” He unsuccessfully ran against U.S. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer in Maryland’s 5th Congressional district.

DEMOCRATIC RACE: Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown hired President Barack Obama’s campaign manager Jim Messina as a senior advisor for Brown’s 2014 gubernatorial run, reports Erin Cox in The Baltimore Sun. The Democrat also announced he has raised $1 million since April, bringing his campaign stash to $4.8 million and starting to close a fundraising gap with Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, who reported $5.1 million in campaign funds in January, reports the Washington Post. Messina brings social media expertise, reports Daniel Leaderman in the Gazette, and will handle fundraising, volunteer organization and media, reports Alexander Pyles in The Daily Record. Josh Kurtz for Center Maryland questions how much of a role Messina will actually play.

Brown scored an endorsement from former Maryland Democratic Party chair and aide to U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer Terry Lierman, reports Daniel Leaderman in The Gazette. Lierman praised Gansler but said “When the ship is sailing correctly, why change?”

Brown also got endorsements from House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, state Senate President Mike Miller and more than 25 other state and local officials, reports John Wagner of the Washington Post. The Baltimore Sun also reported on the endorsements.

Brown was honored with a national award from the NAACP for helping repeal the death penalty in Maryland, reports Michael Dresser for the Baltimore Sun.

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler has launched a quiet campaign for governor, with more than $5 million in the bank, a campaign manager, and three-month tour to share policy ideas for the state. But he isn’t officially a candidate, writes John Wagner of the Washington Post. Gansler talks more about his candidacy in an interview with Charles Duffy of Political Pulse on Montgomery Municipal Cable TV.

Gansler has hired a new campaign manager, reports John Wagner in the Post. Matthew “Mudcat” Arnold recently took over for Carrie Glenn, who has left the campaign for health-related reasons.

Gansler is proposing a six-point “Good Government” overhaul to beef up accountability and transparency on state spending, Len Lazarick blogs in MarylandReporter.com. This includes a new public information inspector general to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively.

Gansler, who plans to formally announce his 2014 bid for governor in September, also proposed including public disclosure of meetings that take place between state employees and outside parties during the regulatory process and a “transparency portal” to provide the public better access to state data over the Internet, the Post’s John Wagner writes.

The Baltimore Sun gives its take on Gansler’s transparency proposals in an editorial that says they could be a significant improvement to the status quo. The editorial board for the Frederick News Post, he deserves a pat on the back for at least broaching strengthening the state’s sunshine laws, which state lawmakers themselves have no real vested interest in improving.

Del. Heather Mizeur is running as a Democrat for governor, facing two better-funded opponents, writes David Moon at Maryland Juice and John Wagner of the Washington Post in articles, respectively. If elected, the Montgomery delegate would be the state’s first woman governor and the first openly gay governor in the country, reports the Sun’s Michael Dresser. The Washington Post offered a glimpse at her first public campaign event, at the Tawes Crab and Clam Bake. Mizeur has the potential to cut into critical voting blocks from the two men, Brown and Gansler, who are also running as Democrats, blogs Josh Kurtz from Center Maryland

Ryan Marshall of The Gazette showcases Mizeur’s campaign kick off that emphasized the importance of service. The Star-Democrat covered an event where she picked up trash at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and answered questions about her chances of winning the Democratic primary, which she said are bolstered by her business-friendly ideas.

Bill Hughes, of the Baltimore Post-Examiner, talks about how Mizeur would be the first openly gay governor in a piece covering a Baltimore fundraiser for the candidate.

O’Malley’s future

Gov. Martin O’Malley is on a list of possible replacements for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will step down to become president of the University of California system, reports The Washington Post.

O’Malley is the chairman of the health and homeland security committee for the National Governors Association. But O’Malley’s press secretary says he’s not interested, reports Tim Wheeler of the Baltimore Sun.

O’Malley jumped into national politics by blasting Republican Gov. Chris Christie for vetoing New Jersey legislation last year that would have allowed same sex marriages, reports John Wagner in the Washington Post.

Chris Cillizza of The Fix on the Washington Post commented on Martin O’Malley in a rundown of Democratic candidates for president, saying that he looks great on paper for president but isn’t charismatic enough.

The Sun’s Erin Cox writes that Gov. Martin O’Malley told a group of reporters Saturday he was laying the “framework” for his 2016 presidential bid, suggesting the governor has shifted from considering whether he’d like to run to how he would run for the Democratic nomination, and that by the end of this year, he will have mapped out “a body of work that lays the framework of a candidacy for 2016.”

Attorney General

Del. Aisha Braveboy sits down to talk with Marc Steiner of WEAA-FM about her plans and philosophy as a candidate for attorney general.

Del. Jon Cardin launched his campaign for the statewide office this month, the first candidate to officially do so, reported Erin Cox of The Baltimore Sun. Cardin, a Baltimore County Democrat, is a general practice attorney and leads the other two expected candidates in the race in fundraising with $170,000 in the bank.

Bryan Sears at Patch.com has the official video announcement along with an article.

Sen. Brian Frosh is asking supporters to elect him as “the people’s lawyer,” John Wagner of The Washington Post reports as Frosh launched his attorney general campaign. Frosh announced a series of Sept. campaign events.

Red Maryland discusses the lack of Republican candidates for Maryland Attorney General.

Across the state

Josh Kurtz of Center Maryland talks about who might be retiring in the Maryland General Assembly in his blog post. A video post by him looks at all the top races, looking at racial and regional rivalries. (You may need to download Microsoft Silverlight to watch).

MarylandReporter.com featured a photo gallery of the political scene at the Tawes Crab and Clam Bake. Here’s more from The Baltimore Sun.

 

U.S. House District 6

David Vogt of Brunswick, a Marine combat veteran, is responding to a call for service instilled in him when he was young, reports Matthew Bieniek of the Cumberland Times-News. Bethany Rodgers of The Frederick News-Post reports that he has called for a spending limit of $500,000 for all candidates in the race, and Kaustuv Basu in the Hagerstown Herald-Mail said his passion to serve inspired him both to join the Marines and run for Congress. Vogt held a campaign stop in Hagerstown at the Morris Frock American Legion Post 42.

Republican Daniel Bongino is making a pledge not to speak negatively about any opponents, the congressional candidate said during a campaign stop at the Cumberland Times-news and Allegany County Fair, reports Michael A. Sawyers for the Times-News.

County Executive Races

Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman will seek election to the post that she was appointed to, setting up at least a three-way Republican primary in 2014, reports Allison Bourg in the Capital-Gazette. Pamela Wood in The Baltimore Sun reports that Neuman enjoys serving and said she has made progress since taking over from disgraced former County Executive John Leopold.

Howard County Republican Sen. Allan Kittleman will need a lot of Democratic votes to win Howard County executive, writes Len Lazarick in MarylandReporter.com, a column which appeared in The Business Monthly serving Howard and Anne Arundel counties.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett had several hundred supporters at his birthday fundraiser Saturday at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg, reports Bill Turque in the Washington Post.

The Democratic challengers to incumbent Executive Isiah Leggett in the Montgomery County executive race are starting to choose key campaign issues, reports Kate S. Alexander in The Gazette. Former County Executive Doug Duncan is making education and transportation his priorities, while Councilman Philip M. Andrews is highlighting the county’s relationship with state leaders and its employees. Both candidates held campaign events at the end of June.

Duncan has been using the Montgomery County flag in campaign materials, which could possibly run afoul of a county law that requires the flag only be used in an official capacity, reports Kate Alexander in the Gazette.