Sunday, February 08, 2009

More on Steele's "Base"

Just like anyone else, I enjoy a good Sunday morning laugh. And I sure got one when David Lublin skewered Post columnist David Broder for referring to Michael Steele's Maryland "base." Here's a few details on Steele's "base" from the only election he ever ran on his own: the 2006 Senate contest against Ben Cardin.

1. Steele lost to Cardin by 10 points (54.2%-44.2%) overall.

2. He lost majority-black Baltimore City 112,805 to 35,185 (74.5%-23.2%).

3. He lost majority-black Prince George's County 154,798 to 49,484 (75.0%-24.0%).

4. He lost Montgomery County, the state's most diverse jurisdiction, 205,264 to 96,616 (67.2%-31.6%).

5. His biggest margins came from small counties with heavily white populations that usually vote Republican (unless Frank Kratovil is on the ballot): Garrett (+44.0%), Carroll (+37.8%), Caroline (+34.4%) and Queen Anne's (+32.1%).

Yeah, this is a guy with a proven track record on reaching out to non-white voters. Too bad it's not the track record the national GOP thought it was getting!