U.S. Senate Candidate Rob Sobhani Releases Sample Ballot: Yes to Obama & Sobhani, No to Dream Act & Marriage Equality

Maryland Juice recently interviewed U.S. Senate candidate Rob Sobhani, an independent challenger to Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin. We asked Sobhani to explain his views on the various ballot questions facing Maryland voters this November. His answers at the time were vague, to say the least, and he was even undecided on hot-button issues like the Dream Act (Question 4).

ROB SOBHANI'S VIEWS REVEALED: But now, a Maryland Juice reader has forwarded us scans of a voter guide that Sobhani's campaign team is handing out at the polls. Rob Sobhani is encouraging voters to support his campaign for Senate, and also to support Barack Obama's re-election. But it appears that Sobhani is also telling voters to "vote against" all of the ballot questions, including marriage equality (Question 6) and the Dream Act (Question 4). See the sample ballot below:

Rob Sobhani's Sample Ballot

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Endorses Maryland Marriage Equality & Donates $250K to "Vote For" Question 6 Campaign

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Marylanders for Marriage Equality today highlighted a new endorsement from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The independent politician is urging Marylanders to "vote for" Question 6. The LGBT oriented site Queerty also reports that Bloomberg donated $250,000 to Maryland's civil rights campaign. Read his email appeal below:

Juice -

Maryland will always hold a special place in my heart.  I went to college at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and have remained active in the Hopkins community.  So when Governor O'Malley asked me to support Question 6, I didn’t hesitate. 

As a business leader and Mayor of New York City, I do not believe that government has any business telling one class of couples that they cannot marry.  The 14th Amendment guarantees us all equal protection under the law, and that's what Question 6 does -- it treats all citizens equally under the law, while protecting religious liberty at the same time.

Two years ago, I was proud to support the effort to pass marriage equality in the State of New York -- and the bi-partisan support it received resulted in one of our state’s great civil rights victories.

Around the country,  a few legislatures and state courts have taken action to extend marriage equality to all couples, regardless of gender.  But never before have voters affirmed marriage equality in a statewide referendum.  By voting “FOR” on Question 6, I believe Maryland will become the first state in the nation to affirm marriage equality at the ballot box.

On Tuesday, November 6th – Election Day – you will have an opportunity to make history.

The next great barrier to full equality under the law is marriage equality.  There is no doubt in my mind this barrier will fall, just as so many others have.  The question is not if, but when.  And it is my hope that you will answer that question for Maryland on Tuesday, November 6th.

Please join me and support Question 6.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg

POLL: Marriage Equality & Dream Act Moving Toward Passage // Majority of MD Independents Will "Vote For" Questions 4 & 6

PLUS: VOTERS DIVIDED ON GAMBLING EXPANSION (QUESTION 7)

SUMMARY POLL RESULTS: With a little over a month until this November's Presidential Election, a new poll from Gonzales Research (Hat tip: Maryland Reporter) shows that a majority of voters will "vote for" the Dream Act (Question 4) and marriage equality (Question 6). Meanwhile, voters are divided on whether to expand gambling (Question 7). Here are the summary results from the new Gonzales poll (via Maryland Reporter):

Question 4 – Dream Act

• Statewide, 58% of Maryland voters say they will vote For Question 4 in the November election, while 34% say they will vote Against Question 4, with 8% undecided.

Question 6 – Same-Sex Marriage

• Statewide, 51% of voters say they will vote For Question 6, while 43% say they will vote Against Question 6, with 6% undecided.

Question 7 – Expanded Gaming

• Statewide, 45% of Maryland voters say they will vote For Question 7, while 46% say they will vote Against Question 7, with 9% undecided.

POLL RESULTS: Independent Rob Sobhani Tied With GOP Nominee Dan Bongino in Race for Sen. Ben Cardin's Seat

UPDATE: Rob Sobhani is now using these tied poll results to argue that he should be included in debates between Sen. Ben Cardin and Dan Bongino. It sounds like Bongino doesn't want him to attend, though. The Associated Press reported on the news (via The Washington Post - excerpt below):

ASSOCIATED PRESS: An independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland is renewing his call to be included in debates between Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin and Republican challenger Dan Bongino. In asking to join the two major-party candidates in their debates, independent Rob Sobhani is citing recent poll results that show he is as competitive as Bongino....

POLL RESULTS DEMONSTRATE WEAK REPUBLICAN BRAND IN MARYLAND

BACKGROUND: Independent U.S. Senate candidate Rob Sobhani appears to have doomed Republican Dan Bongino's already struggling campaign for Democrat Ben Cardin's seat. Moreover, the GOP brand in Maryland appears to be extremely weak.

Maryland Reporter today highlighted a new poll from Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies surveying voter opinion on several contested races in the Free State. We'll soon discuss some of the latest numbers on the heated ballot questions, but for now Maryland Juice finds the poll results on Maryland's U.S. Senate race the most interesting. Incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin's biggest re-election competition comes from GOP nominee Dan Bongino and wealthy independent candidate Rob Sobhani (a former Republican candidate). We previously reported that Sobhani was spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television advertising throughout Maryland. Gonzales' poll today is the first measure of the impact of that spending, and the results show how weak the Republican brand is in Maryland.

BEN CARDIN WAY AHEAD IN SENATE RACE // TIE FOR 2ND PLACE - First, it shouldn't surprise anyone to see that Sen. Ben Cardin is way ahead of his competition in the U.S. Senate race. Gonzales reported the following results today (excerpt below via Maryland Reporter):

CANDID COMMENTS: Gov. Martin O'Malley Calls Micro-Targeting a "Bullshit" Strategy & Critiques HBO's "The Wire"

Maryland Juice recently caught two interviews with Gov. Martin O'Malley that are worth reading. A few days ago, Maryland's governor (who also chairs the Democratic Governors Association) provided candid comments to the BuzzFeed website and Governing magazine. See a few choice excerpts below, including O'Malley's belief that trying to micro-target independents this year is a futile strategy. Instead, he argues that the Democrats need to fire up the base of younger, more liberal voters, along with people of color. Indeed, O'Malley's stated belief in tonal campaigning (noted below) is something that Maryland Juice agrees with, particularly during the current demographic shifts we are witnessing:

BUZZFEED: O'Malley, a top Obama ally who chairs the the Democratic Governors Association and is often named as a possible presidential contender in 2016, discounted the idea that whoever wins the presidential election will be the candidate who focuses most closely on independent voters. And he suggested that the Democratic National Convention marked a decision to run a campaign centered on core Democratic voters — traditionally, younger, more liberal, African-American and Hispanic.

"Sometimes in campaigns you can drive yourself crazy with the micro-targeting and the pollsters and the tea leaves and the pixie dust trying to twist yourself into triple back-flips to appeal to the three percent that are the undecideds that live in suburbs and have lawns that are less than 20 feet long and all that bullshit," O'Malley said in an interview at BuzzFeed's Manhattan office Thursday. "Just tell the base why you're doing what you're doing and why you're better than the other guy."

O'Malley made the case that undecided voters are simply too diverse to be effectively targeted by a candidate or campaign....

O'Malley dismisses comparisons to The Wire's Thomas Carcetti

In an interview in Governing magazine, O'Malley also addressed comparisons between his own political career and that of Thomas Carcetti, Baltimore's mayor in HBO's hit show "The Wire" (excerpt below):

MARTIN O'MALLEY: (Laughs) I'm not that guy. I mean, there are aspects of that character -- how can I say this? David Simon and I both came from Montgomery County, Md. David came to Baltimore and saw nothing but suffering and hopelessness, and made a lot of money on it. I moved from Montgomery County to Baltimore and saw the tremendous opportunity to heal and save lives. I haven't made a lot of money, but the people of Baltimore achieved the biggest reduction in part 1* crime over the last 10 years of any of the major cities in America.

David Simon has a very, very cynical view of what we're capable of accomplishing as a free people in the face of challenges like the level of drug addiction and violent crime that we had allowed ourselves to sink into in Baltimore. But I've seen the goodness in the people of Baltimore, and that's the power I've chosen to tap into.

I'm glad that I have outlived "The Wire." More importantly, I'm glad Baltimore has outlived "The Wire."

Check out the full interviews with Gov. Martin O'Malley at BuzzFeed & Governing.