Two Black U.S. Senators?

Democrat Paul Sarbanes of Maryland is announcing that he is retiring from the Senate and will not seek re-election in 2006. Maryland is nearly 27% African American and this is an excellent opportunity for former Congressman and NAACP head Kweisi Mfume, Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, Congressman Elijah Cummings or some other black elected official to join Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in 2007. Even before the Sarbanes announcement on Friday, there were polls showing Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley 26%, Mfume 24% and Congressman Benjamin Cardin (20%) in a crowded Democratic field. O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive Douglas Duncan both said on Friday that they would skip the 2006 Senate race to concentrate on unseating Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich.