JUICE: Poll Shows Brown Lead for Governor & Cardin for AG, Gilchrest for Mizeur, Anti-Tax Gansler, Sen. Forehand Retiring?

Below Maryland Juice highlights several tidbits of news that may be of interest to Free State politicos:

JUICE #1: NEW POLL SHOWS LARGE ANTHONY BROWN LEAD FOR GOVERNOR, SMALLER LEAD FOR CARDIN IN ATTORNEY GENERAL RACE - This morning Maryland Reporter highlighted the results of a fascinating new Gonzalez poll surveying voters on their views of the 2014 Governor and Attorney General contests, as well as issues ranging from death penalty repeal, gun control, the gas tax, and more (excerpt below):

MARYLAND REPORTER: Among Democratic voters, O’Malley’s political partner, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown has a wide lead in the race to succeed O’Malley as governor over Attorney General Doug Gansler and Del. Heather Mizeur, but a third of Democrats are still undecided. The results were 41% for Brown, 21% for Gansler and 5% for Mizeur. This is similar to the results of an internal Brown poll released earlier this month.

In the Democratic race for attorney general, Del. Jon Cardin had a clear lead with 25% support, versus 13% for Sen. Brian Frosh, 8% for Del. Aisha Braveboy, and 5% for Del. Bill Frick, but almost half are undecided....

You can read the full results of the Gonzalez poll below, and note that in deep Blue Maryland, Democratic voters overwhelmingly support death penalty repeal, gun control, and more, while most of the opposition to these measures came from Republican voters:

Gonzalez October 2013 Maryland Poll

JUICE #2: FORMER GOP CONGRESSMAN WAYNE GILCHREST & EASTERN SHORE OFFICIALS ENDORSE HEATHER MIZEUR FOR GOVERNOR - Yesterday, The Baltimore Sun reported that Delegate Heather Mizeur won the endorsement of former GOP Rep. Wayne Gilchrest and a few Eastern Shore officials for Governor (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN:  Democrat Heather R. Mizeur picked off the endorsement of a maverick former Republican congressman to go with the support of five other Eastern Shore leaders as she continued to show her appeal outside her home county of Montgomery....

Also endorsing Mizeur were Chestertown Mayor Margo Bailey, Salisbury City Councilwoman Laura Mitchell, Chesapeake City Councilman Harry Sampson, Easton Town Councilwoman Megan Cook, and former Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Carol Fordonski....

JUICE #3: ATTORNEY GENERAL DOUG GANSLER CRITICIZES TAX INCREASES IN FUNDRAISING LETTER - Maryland Juice received a copy of the following fundraising solicitation that Attorney General Doug Gansler is mailing to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign. The letter below highlights the alleged flight of businesses and revenue from Maryland, and makes an anti-tax argument:

DOUG GANSLER: Maryland has seen annual billion dollar deficits, a departure of businesses and wealth to neighboring states, 40 consecutive tax increases, and the worst traffic congestion in the nation. Economic opportunity and growth and shared progress are becoming things of the past. Hardworking people feel nickeled and dimed, and entrepreneurs are not building here in Maryland. We need to win back jobs and businesses, and we need to do it by growing our tax base, not our taxes

Doug Gansler's October 2013 Fundraising Message for Maryland Governor

JUICE #4: MYSTERY POLL FOR DISTRICT 17 STATE SENATE // SEN. JENNIE FOREHAND UNDECIDED ON RE-ELECTION AS CANDIDATES PREPARE FOR BATTLE - District 17 (a Democratic stronghold in Montgomery County) is getting hot, with a round of political activity emerging in recent weeks. Below we provide information on a poll that an unknown group is conducting in the D17 State Senate race, along with a news report from Bethesda Magazine's Lou Peck indicating that D17 Senator Jennie Forehand is undecided on whether to run for re-election.

A Maryland Juice reader forwarded us a screencap of the following report on a D17 Senate poll from Gaithersburg City Councilmember Cathy Drzyzgula:

This poll could be prompted by news that incumbent D17 Senator Jennie Forehand may not seek re-election next year (excerpt below):

BETHESDA MAGAZINE: District 17 Sen. Jennie Forehand, who has served in the state General Assembly for more than one-third of a century, is uncertain about whether she will seek another term.... If she does run, there is a widespread expectation among party activists that Forehand will face a primary challenge next June from veteran Delegate Luiz Simmons. Simmons Tuesday said only that he is “inching toward a decision” about a Senate bid, and will decide by the end of October....

The prospect that Simmons will vacate his delegate seat already has attracted three candidates to the latter contest. Former congressional aide Andrew Platt and Laurie-Anne Sayles, vice president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats, have announced for delegate, and former Rockville Mayor Susan Hoffmann expects to do so this month. 

For what it's worth, Delegate Luiz Simmons seems pretty serious about running for the D17 Senate seat. Last month a Maryland Juice source forwarded us a rough transcript of robocall that they received from Delegate Simmons' wife (excerpt below):

CLAIRE SIMMONS: Hi this is Claire Simmons and I'm calling you on behalf of my husband Delegate Lou Simmons and Lou's campaign to close Maryland's gun control loophole. Maryland's gun control loophole is a disaster waiting to occur....  If a gun owner commits a violent crimes like domestic violence, the law requires the gun owner to surrender the gun, but the law can't be enforced because we have computers in Maryland that won't communicate with each other. It's incredible but true. Lou is proposing legislation to close the gun control loophole and he really needs your help....

REMATCH?: Former Rep. Wayne Gilchrest Weighs Challenge to Rep. Andy Harris // LaFerla Still Wants to Replace Wendy Rosen

former CD1 Rep. Wayne Gilchrest

DOUBLE-UPDATE: The Baltimore Sun is reporting that 1st Congressional District Democrats have voted to back John LaFerla to challenge GOP Rep. Andy Harris this November (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: LaFerla said the 12 Democratic central committees in the 1st District, which includes the Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore, Harford, Carroll and Cecil counties, had voted to support him....

UPDATE: A Twitter user has informed us that Gilchrest is now denying the rumors and claiming he is not going to wage a write-in campaign. Others, however, raise the possibility that this means Gilchrest may switch sides and seek the CD1 Democratic nomination in 2014.

Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is reportedly interested in challenging incumbent Rep. Andy Harris in a re-match in this November's Presidential Election. Harris defeated Gilchrest in the 2008 Republican Primary in Maryland's 1st Congressional District. But Gilchrest is apparently thinking of capitalizing on the fact that Democrats are forced to wage a write-in campaign after last week's epic fail. Maryland Juice recently discussed the collapse of Rosen's campaign, after it was discovered that she had been voting in two states. The discovery led to swift condemnation from the Maryland Democrats.

As we noted, Rosen has now dropped out of the Congressional race, but Democrats are unable to replace her on the ballot. Instead, they've indicated they are going to wage a write-in campaign against Tea Party incumbent Rep. Andy Harris. Delmarva Now reports that former CD1 Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is interested in the race, but it is unclear if he is thinking of trying to get the Democratic Party's backing or going it alone. The Democrats, for what it's worth, are in a really tough position right now, because write-in campaigns are rarely successful (DC Mayor Tony Williams being a notable exception). Moreover, the last round of redistricting also made the district more Republican. Read this excerpt from the Delmarva Now report:

CD1: Rep. Wayne Gilchrest Launches GOTV Robocall for John LaFerla // Eastern Shore Dr. Announces New Endorsements

Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is launching a GOTV robocall into Maryland's 1st Congressional District. He is urging voters in the Tuesday, April 3rd Democratic Primary to support Dr. John LaFerla in his quest to take on Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris this November. Along with the robocall below, the LaFerla campaign also announces the endorsement of a number of prominent former federal lawmakers. It turns out former U.S. Senators John Breaux and Birch Bayh are now Eastern Shore residents!



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Senators John Breaux & Birch Bayh, Congressman Steve Kagen, Sherwin Markman,
and Stan Salette all come out to endorse Dr. John LaFerla in his bid for US Congress

CD1: Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest Endorses Democrat John LaFerla for Congress

For Immediate Release

Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest
Endorses John LaFerla for Congress

Chestertown, MD — Today, former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest announced he has endorsed John LaFerla for Congress in Maryland’s 1st District.

“It is vital that we elect a leader who puts our District ahead of political extremism. That is why I am endorsing John LaFerla for Congress. He is our best chance of defeating Andy Harris this Fall, “ said Gilchrest.

John LaFerla said, “I am proud to have the endorsement of our former Congressman. He always put the needs of our district ahead of politics. When I’m elected to Congress, I hope to continue his legacy of protecting the Bay and working with people throughout our community to promote common sense values in Washington.”

John LaFerla is a Democratic candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 1st District. He is a resident of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he has practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology for more than a decade. His home is in Kent County and his private office is in Queen Anne’s County. He also sees patients at clinics in Caroline County and practices Public Health in Talbot.

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