Quieter in Districts 14 and 39

I've been so busy writing about the battle for the District 20 senate seat that I haven't had a chance to finish my roundup of the state legislative races. District 14 is relatively quiet but a challenger is mounting a strong bid for a delegate seat in District 39.

District 14 (Northeast Montgomery). This large district stretches from Burtonsville in southeastern Montgomery to Damascus in Montgomery's northern extremity. Prior to the 2002 redistricting, District 14 was primarily in Howard County but population growth in Montgomery led to its shift into Montgomery. While less Democratic than the Democratic bastions of Districts 18 or 20, District 14 was around a 60-40 Democratic district in the 2002 state legislative elections. District 14 is 19 percent black and 11 percent Asian.

Incumbent Sen. Rona Kramer is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Despite her political strength, Sen. Kramer's maverick style has led to several Democratic-leaning organizations failing to endorse her for reelection. Delegates Anne Kaiser, Karen Montgomery and Herman Taylor are all seeking reelection. Newcomer Neda Bolourian joins them on the campaign trail, though her challenge on the web is not very aggressive as her site is still "under construction".

District 39 (Germantown, Montgomery Village, and North Potomac). This district forms a horseshoe around Gaithersburg as it runs from North Potomac through Germantown and Montgomery Village to Washington Grove. It is the result of radical boundary changes to districts in Upcounty due to major population growth. Prior to the 1994 election, District 15 was divided in two with the northern part becoming District 39. It lost most of its rural territory, making it much more Democratic, prior to the 2002 elections. The district is now 17 percent black, 13 percent Asian, and 11 percent Hispanic.

District 39 elected only Republicans in 1994 though all three Republican delegates were defeated by Democrats in 1998. Sen. Patrick Hogan, elected as a Republican, switched parties after the election. Democrats swept all state legislative seats in District 39 in the reconfigured district in 2002. Sen. Patrick Hogan is unopposed for the Democratic nomination to a fourth term this year. Delegates Charles Barkley, Nancy King, and Joan Frances Stern are all seeking reelection.

However, newcomer Saqib Ali is mounting a vigorous challenge for one of the delegate seats, specifically that of Del. Stern. Stern appears to be in serious trouble. Her colleagues in the legislature have dumped her from the incumbent slate. Ali beat out incumbent Del. Stern for the valuable MCEA endorsement. He also has endorsements from Steve Silverman, who appears to be running well in District 39, and Kweisi Mfume.

One cannot help but suspect that Ali's name and Muslim faith will make winning the seat an uphill battle despite the obvious vulnerability of the incumbent and Ali having more support than most challengers. On the other hand, the hateful efforts of one man to label Ali, a native-born American of South Asian origin who attended the University of Maryland, a "terrorist" and to attack his religion probably only gained Ali sympathy and support.