MARYLAND: Race To Succeed Sarbanes Tightens

The race to replace Democratic U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland is starting to get very interesting. It is very possible this race will involve two African American challengers: Republican Lieutentant Governor Michael Steele and former Democratic U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume. If so, this would bring the grand total of Black United States Senators to two in January 2007. The latest polling results from Rasmussen show that the two most prominent Democratic candidates Mfume and Cardin have narrowed the gap with Steele, with Cardin leading 49-41 and Mfume basically in a dead heat 44-45.

Steele's main claim to fame in the national media is his connection to the spurious story that he was pelted with oreo cookies during a 2002 debate between his running mate (and soon to be ex-Governor) Bob Ehrlich and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend held at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.

Mfume has some aspects of his personal life that some people in Maryland may not approve of (he has fathered 5 children out of wedlock with 5 different women). It's not clear if this is a fatal flaw to his candidacy and Cardin, to his credit has not been using this information against Mfume, to my knowledge.