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Senate, Governor candidates court black vote

With polls suggesting that turnout of black voters could be critical in the races for governor and U.S. Senate in Maryland, the campaigns in recent days have turned their messages and attention to black voters.
Senate candidate Ben Cardin, center, appeared with Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson and Congressman Al Wynn in Palmer Park, Md., in an effort to get some minority backing and turn out the vote.
Senate candidate Ben Cardin, center, appeared with Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson and Congressman Al Wynn in Palmer Park, Md., in an effort to get some minority backing and turn out the vote. Michael Robinson Chavez / Washington Post
/ Source: a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/front.htm" linktype="External" resizable="true" status="true" scrollbars="true">The Washington Post</a

On Saturday, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. attended an NAACP forum in his gubernatorial opponent's back yard. The next day, he went to four black churches in Prince George's County, then to a dinner for black police officers in Baltimore.

Today, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, the Democratic Senate candidate, and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley are scheduled to welcome Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to Bowie State University, a historically black college, for a rally.

With polls suggesting that turnout of black voters could be critical in the races for governor and U.S. Senate in Maryland, the campaigns in recent days have turned their messages and attention to black voters.

"I think a good bit more deserved attention is now being paid to Prince George's County and its important voters that wasn't being focused here before," said Wayne K. Curry, a former county executive who crossed party lines this week to endorse the Republican Senate candidate, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.

Blacks make up nearly 30 percent of the state population and are the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency. Black turnout fell short of some Democrats' expectations in 2002, when nominee then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) angered some when she failed to name a black running mate.

The percentage of registered black voters that cast ballots dropped to 41 percent in 2002 from 52 percent in the 1998 midterm election. Some political observers believe that contributed to her loss to Ehrlich (R).

'Crucial' turnout
Democrats are hoping for a higher turnout this year, and the Republican strategy is to peel off a certain percentage of black voters. Steele's campaign, for instance, said it can win the election by garnering 25 percent of the black vote.

"The black turnout is crucial," said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.).

Cummings said there is growing discontent with the state Democratic Party among some African Americans. That, coupled with the GOP stepping up its effort to court black voters, could complicate things for Democrats this year, he said.

"The vast majority of African Americans are dedicated to the Democratic Party," Cummings said. "And then there's another group that wants the Democratic Party to do more."

The decision by Curry and five black Democrats on the Prince George's County Council to back Steele, the first African American elected to a statewide office, could have widespread ramifications since the county is considered the battleground for the Senate race.

The group said the state Democratic Party has continued to snub black voters and cited Townsend's running mate decision in 2002. Many black Democrats had hoped she would choose former Montgomery County Council member Isiah "Ike" Leggett, who is black.

They also questioned the way party leadership rallied behind Cardin's candidacy over primary challenger and former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume.

"The party acts as though when they want our opinion, they'll give it to us," Curry said during a news conference Monday.

But some Democratic leaders have questioned the group's motives, insisting that its members were motivated largely by their own ambitions, endorsing Steele to bolster their own reputations as county power brokers.

"When Wayne Curry expresses concern about how the African American community is being treated, he generally has one particular person in mind first," said former state delegate and longtime activist Timothy F. Maloney, who called the news conference a "cocktail party talk among 10 or 15 people trying to get attention for themselves."

According to a Washington Post poll concluded days before the endorsement announcement, black voters favored Cardin and O'Malley by more than 80 percent. They also were far more critical of President Bush's performance and much more likely to rank Iraq as their top issue -- both factors that could boost black voter turnout this year.

But Cardin has been taking no chances, campaigning daily in Prince George's this week and touting his support from other black leaders, including Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) and County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D). Cardin started early yesterday, greeting voters at a Metro station in New Carrollton with Johnson and concluding the day with an rally at Johnson's campaign headquarters in Largo.

"He's going to be living in Prince George's County," joked Johnson, who has been exhorting crowds to remind their neighbors of the issues that brought them to the party in the first place.

Peggy Yates, 64, of Fort Washington said she does not need to be reminded. Cardin and O'Malley can count on her vote, she said.

"I just don't understand how these council members and Wayne Curry can support Steele," Yates said.

Thomasyne Anderson, 47, said she hasn't changed her opinion in the past week either. She's voting Democratic.

"Even if that were the case, that the Democratic Party was taking the black vote for granted, that would not be a reason to vote Republican," Anderson said. "There is the war. There is health care. There is education. Especially education. . . . The direction the Republican Party has taken this country in is abominable."

What impact?
But there are signs that Curry's stand may have an impact on some voters.

Adrion J. Howell, who is Johnson's liaison to the County Council, said the endorsement of Steele by Curry and the council members was "bold and courageous" and that he knows their comments resonated with many voters who are now considering a vote for Steele.

"Will I actually go and pull a lever for a Republican?" asked Howell, who has worked for Democratic politicians since 1988. "I don't know. But is there a message that needs to be sent to the Democratic Party? Yes there is."

State Democratic party leaders hope to counter any softening of support with a coordinated effort to reach out to voters through canvassing, direct mailings and phone calls to make sure voters go to the polls.

David Paulson, a spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party, said the push to get out the vote has been underway for two months and is costing the party "literally millions."

"I know it's much to the consternation of some," Paulson said of the calls to voters. "The effort is to irritate them slightly, but just enough to go vote."

Meanwhile, Republicans are employing a program that was used in the 2004 reelection of Bush, known as microtargeting. Instead of focusing only on Zip codes, the party has identified individual voters and will continue to contact them until they are assured that they have voted.

Steele's campaign believes he can appeal to some socially conservative African Americans in Prince George's.

Yesterday, Steele attended an event at which he was endorsed by Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr., pastor of Hope Christian Church in Bowie. "Elections can no longer be about Democrat or Republican politicians," said Jackson, an outspoken opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage. "Our community needs leaders who are aligned with our moral and spiritual values."

Staff writer Hamil R. Harris contributed to this report.