Dems Hope to Gain General Assembly Seats

Democrats already hold two-thirds of the seats in both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly. One would think that there would be far more opportunities for Republicans than Democrats since the Democrats already hold so many seats. Earlier in the campaign, Gov. Ehrlich and the Republicans hoped to pick up fourteen seats in the House and five in the Senate. Ehrlich would love to have enough Republicans to sustain a veto in either the House or the Senate.

However, the atmosphere has shifted completely. Democrats now hope to pick up seats, especially in the House of Delegates. Ehrlich's hope of a veto-sustaining minority of Republicans seem rather irrelevant since he is going to lose the general election. In some ways, the strength of Maryland state legislative Democrats is not a surprise. O'Malley in 2006 is a stronger candidate than Townsend was in 2002. Democrats in conservative areas who survived 2002 should find 2006 relatively easy.

Read more details about which seats held by both parties appear vulnerable in the Gazette. Suffice to say that neither Montgomery nor Prince George's Counties contain any of the seats near the top of the list to watch. Most seats in both counties are Democratic bastions. However, even marginal District 15 in western Montgomery didn't rate a mention in the Gazette story.

Democrats certainly looked energized at a neighborhood fundraiser held last night at the home of Chevy Chase Councilman Rob Enelow and Dr. Amy Kossoff. Senate Candidate Richard Madaleno said that this election was a chance for Democrats to "emotionally cripple" Republicans who had been hoping for major gains this year as he introduced Speaker Michael Busch. Busch fired up the crowd with his pride in the achievements of legislative Democrats.

Speaker Busch acknowledged the future delegates at the event from Districts 16 (Bethesda) and 18 (Chevy Chase-Kensington-Wheaton) including Jane Lawton, Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher, Susan Lee and Bill Bronrott. Democratic State Party Chair Terry Lierman promoted a strong turnout and cautioned against complacency.

Senate Candidate Ben Cardin and current Sen. Paul Sarbanes both joined the crowd after holding an event with former President Bill Clinton. Their talk of taking back Congress from the Republican naturally excited this partisan crowd. A panoply of other politicians came as well, including former (and future?) Congressional Candidate Donna Edwards, Montgomery Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, Attorney General Candidate Doug Gansler, and Chevy Chase Councilman Lance Hoffman.