Obama Opening Gigantic Lead in Maryland

It's not exactly news that Senator Barack Obama is leading Senator John McCain in Maryland. But his margin is growing so rapidly that it could culminate in a historic blowout.

According to Real Clear Politics, there have been three presidential polls in Maryland this summer.

On 8/18/08, Rasmussen polled 500 likely voters who gave a 10-point edge (53-43) to Obama.

On 8/29/08-9/5/08, Gonzalez Research polled 833 likely voters who gave a 14-point edge (52-38) to Obama.

And on 9/20/08, Rasmussen polled 500 likely voters who gave a 23-point edge (60-37) to Obama.

Now sure, there's over a month to go in this campaign and Maryland has been a consistently Democratic state for a long time. But Obama's lead is approaching Biblical proportions. Consider the margins by which Democratic candidates won the last four presidential elections in Maryland:

1992: Bill Clinton 50%, George H.W. Bush 36%, Ross Perot 14% - Margin of 14 points

1996: Bill Clinton 54%, Bob Dole 38%, Ross Perot 7% - Margin of 16 points

2000: Al Gore 57%, George W. Bush 40% - Margin of 17 points

2004: John Kerry 56%, George W. Bush 43% - Margin of 13 points

Is Obama going to break a record here? And if he does, what does that say about the state of Maryland's GOP?