The African American Vote in Maryland

The Baltimore Sun has another interesting article about the impact of African American voters in Maryland elections. Clearly, African American voters are one of the keys to Democratic victories in Maryland. Ehrlich's victory in 2002 was greatly aided by low turnout in Baltimore City and Prince George's County. I would argue that this had more to do with frustration with the Democratic ticket than with Ehrlich selecting Michael Steele as his running mate.

I believe that this election will be different because current African American elected officials have a vested interest in defeating Ehrlich and Steele. There are several extremely qualified African American Democrats who are in the top tier of potential candidates for the next US Senate race (2010? 2012?) including Anthony Brown, Kweisi Mfume, US Rep Elijah Cummings from Baltimore, US Rep Al Wynn, and Prince George's State's Attorney Glen Ivey who do not want to see Steele win this race. They will work hard to make sure there is a strong turnout in November. I expect Ike Leggett will be called upon to campaign around the state for the Democratic ticket as well. He is a dynamic campaigner whose appeal should not go unused.