It's a Great Night to Be a Democrat!

Taking Back the State
The election returns still show Ehrlich and Steele ahead in the votes and Ken Mehlman is still pretending that Steele could win. However, they don't have a prayer. Most of the outstanding votes are in Baltimore, Montgomery, and Prince George's. Maryland is returning to its Democratic roots.

Steele's great hope of a surge in Prince George's just didn't happen. Cardin is winning 75% of the Prince George's vote with 58% of precincts reporting according to CNN. Indeed, Ehrlich is outperforming Steele in Prince George's. Soon-to-be-retired Gov. Ehrlich, however, should not crow. Ehrlich is going to lose his home base of Baltimore County to Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.

As County Executive-Elect Ike Leggett said tonight at the Montgomery County Democratic celebration, it just goes to show that nice guys finish first. Democrats should not be so nice that they forget the GOP dirty trick of putting out fake voter cards claiming that prominent black Democrats endorsed the Republicans.

Ethnic Cleansing in Montgomery?
Tonight looks to be the end of an era as the last liberal Republicans go down to defeat. The new Montgomery County Council will have no Democrats. Incumbent Republican Howie Denis has been decisively defeated by Democrat Roger Berliner in District 1.

The sole Republican with a prayer of winning reelection appears to be Republican Del. Jean Cryor. While Cryor was leading earlier in the evening, she now trails Democrat Craig Rice by 246 votes with 10 of the district's 35 precincts left to support. This race could still go either way but Rice is certainly outperforming expectations at this point.

Montgomery Flexing Its Muscles
Montgomery will hold three of the top five offices in the state. Montgomery State's Attorney Doug Gansler will soon be the Attorney General of the State. Democratic Del. Peter Franchot will replace Maryland legend William Donald Schaefer as Comptroller. Assuming she is reelected by the legislature, Nancy Kopp will return as State Treasurer and join Franchot and O'Malley on the important Board of Public Works.

Diversity Advances in Maryland
Republicans somehow incredibly managed to claim the diversity mantle with their nomination of Michael Steele and Kristin Cox. Don't believe it. Steele has no accomplishments to his name and made almost no inroads in the African-American community which ultimately realized that he is a spokesman for Bush. The real champion of the idea that quality officials come from all corners of our community remains the Democrats.

Here's why: Anthony Brown, an extremely impressive man who ought to have one of the brightest political futures in our state, will become the first black Democratic statewide official. African-American Ike Leggett is the overwhelming choice of the people of Montgomery to lead this largely non-black county. Craig Rice has a real shot at becoming the first African-American delegate from overwhelmingly white District 15. Saqib Ali has won his race in District 39 and will be the first openly Muslim delegate in Maryland.

Rich Madaleno's 3-1 victory in District 18 will make him the first openly gay senator in Maryland history though I think he is getting even better known for his budget expertise than his strong advocacy for gay rights. Heather Mizeur in District 20 is one the most impressive newcomers in the House and openly lesbian.

No question we still have more work to do here. However, even as I note these milestones, I'm proud that in my county and state we increasingly elect officials based on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.

The National Picture
The Democrats have taken back the House and it currently looks like that they will even have a double-digit majority. The Senate amazingly remains in play. Although several networks called the Virginia race for Allen (aka Sen. Macacawitz), Democrat Jim Webb just pulled into the lead as more precincts from Arlington and Richmond report in the nearly last results in the Old Dominion.

Virginia remains tight but it puts Democrats on track to win 50 or 51 Senate seats. Democrats now seem certain to takeover GOP seats in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. They are also running strong in Montana. Missouri is close but encouraging. If Democrats pickup six Senate seats, they will have won a stunning 73% of Senate seats up for election this year.

So far, I believe my prediction that not a single Democrat running for reelection in the same district would lose holds true. Republicans will attempt to spin this as an anti-incumbent election. Don't believe a word of it. Their arrogance and disastrous policies have brought this result on themselves. Tonight is a major Democratic victory. Enjoy!