2008 Woodie Awards
Franchot Holds Nearly 2-to-1 Lead in Md. Comptroller's Race
From the Associated Press
Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: News
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Del. Peter Franchot, who unseated incumbent William Donald Schaefer in the Democratic primary, holds a nearly 2-to-1 lead in the Maryland comptroller’s race, according to a poll published Wednesday.
Voters favored Franchot over former University of Baltimore business school dean Anne M. McCarthy by 54 percent to 29 percent, with 17 percent undecided, The Sun reported.
The Montgomery County lawmaker holds overwhelming leads in his home county and in the other Democratic strongholds of Prince George’s County and Baltimore. But Franchot, 58, also had solid leads in the jurisdictions Republicans usually need to capture in order to win a statewide election, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties.
McCarthy led in the rural counties, The Sun reported.
The poll was conducted Sept. 15 to Sept. 18 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
The poll results were not surprising University of Maryland, Baltimore County professor Donald F. Norris said, noting that Franchot’s lead mirrors the statewide 2-to-1 registration advantage Democrats hold over Republicans.
“Barring a miracle on behalf of McCarthy or a catastrophic error on behalf of Franchot, it’s his,” Norris said.
Norris predicted McCarthy would have difficulty raising enough money to close the gap. A four-year Maryland resident, she is the niece of former Republican Rep. Edward J. Derwinski who represented suburban Chicago for more than 20 years.
“She’s an unknown,” Norris said, adding that Republicans are likely to focus on the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate campaign of Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.
A spokeswoman for the state Republican Party said McCarthy will have the GOP’s full support.
When voters look at Franchot’s “20-year career of partisan bomb-throwing” in the General Assembly, they’ll swing to McCarthy said Audra Miller.
Franchot said he is gaining support since a closely fought, bruising, three-way primary race.
“I am optimistic that message of progressive, independent fiscal responsibility is going to be well-received by Marylanders of all political persuasions,” he said.
Franchot’s victory in the three-way race for the Democratic nomination, upset Schaefer’s 51-year winning streak. Schaefer, 84, had been comptroller for eight years but lost a lot of his popularity by antics that had transformed his image from lovable eccentric to mean old man— and a clueless, sexist one, at that.
The colorful unpredictability that was part of his charm wore thin in recent years, particularly after his biting criticism of Janet Owens, a county executive and friend who joined the race when polls showed he was vulnerable.
He said Owens was fat. He criticized her hair style. He described her as “Mother Hubbard” in one breath and said she looked like a man in another.
Schaefer ended up finishing last, getting only about 30 percent of the vote.