SIGN-UP NOW: U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski is Taking Requests for 2013 Inauguration Tickets from Marylanders

Now that the Presidential Election is over, politicos are beginning to move forward with other priorities -- including celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama's second term in office. The event will take place on Monday, January 21, 2013. The official website for the 2013 inauguration notes that "tickets for the Inaugural swearing-in ceremonies will be distributed in January 2013 by both Senators and Representatives elected (or reelected) this November."

MIKULSKI TAKING INAUGURATION TICKET REQUESTS: Indeed, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski's office already has a request form up and running for Marylanders who are interested in receiving inauguration tickets. You can sign-up to try and score some tickets now.

Senator Cardin's office is not yet taking ticket requests, but they posted the following note:

BEN CARDIN: It is still early in the planning process for the inaugural events, and it will be a few weeks before I will be able to take names of people interested in tickets. Please check my website after the Thanksgiving holiday for more information. When I have tickets available, I will be distributing them via lottery and not on a first-come, first-served basis, and there will be plenty of time to apply.

Maryland Juice will post more inauguration details as they come in!

GUEST POST: Del. Eric Luedtke Dissects Montgomery County's Marriage Equality, Dream Act & Gambling Results // SEE MAPS

PLUS: MARYLAND JUICE HIGHLIGHTS QUICK NOTES ABOUT DAMASCUS AND GOP VOTERS WHO SUPPORTED MARRIAGE EQUALITY

Below Maryland Juice is pleased to publish an interesting analysis of key ballot question results in Montgomery County. Our guest pundit, Delegate Eric Luedtke (D14 Democrat), looked at the precinct-level returns for marriage equality (Question 6), the Dream Act (question 4) and gambling expansion (Question 7). He also created some insightful maps showing how MoCo's neighborhoods voted on the various measures.

ERIC LUEDTKE: Below, I've attached precinct maps showing how Montgomery County voted on questions 4, 6, and 7. First, I should note that these maps only display the election day precinct level vote, and do not include early voting totals.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections data counts the early vote as a separate canvass, like they do with absentee votes. During early voting, MoCo supported marriage equality nearly six points more than the statewide overall vote for Question 6. On the Dream Act, Montgomery County voters supported the measures by four points more than the statewide vote. Lastly, on gambling expansion, Montgomery County supported Question 7 by four tenths of a point less than the statewide average.

Note that there were some geographical variations in the early vote due to the locations of the early vote centers. For example, the early vote probably included significantly more voters from Silver Spring precincts (folks who likely voted at the Silver Spring Civic Center) than voters from the Bethesda area, where there is no early voting center. But nonetheless, the maps below give a glimpse into the geographic and demographic patterns of the vote on the various questions.

NOTE: On all of the maps below, the bluest areas show precincts that "voted for" the ballot question in large numbers. The purple areas show precincts where fewer than 50% of voters supported a "vote for" the ballot question. See the explanation of the color-coding using the key to the right.

QUESTION 4 - DREAM ACT RESULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ERIC LUEDTKE: The question 4 map is probably the most clear. Only six far upcounty precincts voted against it, including much of Damascus (except the central precinct which is entirely suburban rather than a rural-suburban mix like the rest of Damascus), parts of Laytonsville, and northern Gaithersburg outside the city limits. The heaviest vote in favor is concentrated downcounty, particularly in Bethesda and Silver Spring, and also has concentrations in parts of the county further north that have heavier immigrants populations. This includes most of the 29 corridor, which has significant populations of Latinos and continental African immigrants, the Wheaton area and its heavy Latino population, and precincts around Gaithersburg and Rockville with large Latino and Asian-American populations. It’s interesting to note the stretch of precincts voting strongly in favor up the 270 corridor all the way to the Frederick County line, likely due to a continued expansion of more urban and suburban areas in Germantown and Clarksburg. It’s also significant that nearly all of District 15 voted in favor, including the heavily rural precincts around Poolesville and Barnesville. District 15, you may remember, was the last MoCo district to elect a Republican, but its shift towards the Democratic column seems to be continuing.

QUESTION 6 - MARRIAGE EQUALITY RESULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ERIC LUEDTKE: The question 6 map is similar to the question 4 map. Support is concentrated in Bethesda/Chevy Chase, lower Silver Spring, and Rockville, with concentrations of lesser support in Olney, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Potomac. Many of the majority-minority portions of the county voted in favor, including the upper 29 corridor and Wheaton/Aspen Hill, although by a significantly smaller margin than they supported question 4. I think this reflects the fact that marriage equality supporters were successful in reaching out to many minority voters, but obviously still have work to do. Four of the ten precincts that opposed are in District 14, which had the lowest vote by district in the county, but still the vote was in favor in all eight legislative districts. 

QUESTION 7 - GAMBLING EXPANSION RESULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ERIC LUEDTKE: The question 7 map is a bit of a cipher, in that for virtually every identifiable pattern there is an exception. Significant pockets of opposition cluster along the DC line in areas from Bethesda and Chevy Chase south and in Takoma Park and east Silver Spring, but a big chunk of the western side of Silver Spring voted in favor by a wide margin. More conservative upcounty precincts in Brookeville, Laytonsville, and Barnesville voted against, while most of Damascus voted in favor. Seniors at Asbury and Riderwood voted heavily against it, while seniors in Leisure World voted in favor. The vast majority of the county voted in favor of it by relatively slim margins, and we don’t see many geographic concentrations of support like we did on the other maps, although there is a significant concentration of support in Gaithersburg and Germantown, one in the Aspen Hill area, and a smaller one in Fairland and Briggs-Chaney.

DAMASCUS VOTERS: AGAINST MARRIAGE EQUALITY & DREAM ACT, FOR BOOZE AND GAMBLING - Maryland Juice has one interesting takeaway from Luedtke's analysis. It appears that Damascus voters may be the black sheep of Montgomery County. Notably, Damascus voters appear to have unusual moral priorities as demonstrated by their voting behavior. On November 6, Damascus overwhelmingly voted to begin allowing alcohol sales in their town (Note: it is currently a "dry" town). But while many Damascus voters also voted against marriage equality and the Dream Act, they also approved gambling expansion. Bottom line: Damascus rejected civil rights and college opportunity, but embraced booze and gambling. I'm no puritan about booze and gambling, but what kind of a message does this send? Oy vey!

SIDENOTE: SOME REPUBLICANS BUCKED PARTY TO SUPPORT MARRIAGE EQUALITY - Maryland Juice has one final note for this analysis of the ballot question results. Walter Olson of the CATO Institute today published an interesting op-ed in The Huffington Post noting that in some Republican-dominated parts of Maryland, the "vote for" marriage equality was higher than Obama's vote total in the same places. He surmises that this means Republican defections on marriage equality helped Question 6 pass in Maryland (excerpt below):

WALTER OLSON: In fact county-level results reveal that across wide swaths of Republican territory in Maryland, same-sex marriage actually ran well ahead of Barack Obama and the Democratic ticket. That means there were many, many Romney voters who voted for the same-sex marriage law -- enough, in fact, that without them the measure would almost certainly have lost by a mile....

Two major bulwarks of Republican strength in Maryland, Anne Arundel and Frederick Counties, went both for Romney and for same-sex marriage. The two counties have been home to some of the state's best- known anti-gay politicians, such as Del. Don Dwyer of Anne Arundel and former Sen. Alex Mooney of Frederick. Frederick County especially, where I live, is famed as a right-wing stronghold.... Romney carried Anne Arundel by a point.

In Carroll, Question 6 ran a remarkable 11 points ahead of the president, in Queen Anne's 10 points ahead, in Harford and Cecil 5 points, and in Frederick and Anne Arundel 3 to 4 points. Collectively these counties contributed tens of thousands more votes for Question 6 than if gay marriage had been, as you might put it, only as popular as the chief executive of the United States.....

JuiceBlender: Chris Van Hollen vs. Steny Hoyer for U.S. House Leadership, Voter Confrontation with Sam Arora & More!

Now that the Presidential election has ended, politicos are moving on with their other agenda items. Indeed, many efforts have been on hold until after the election was over. It has only been days, but already folks are now talking about the 2016 White House race, and 2014 gubernatorial candidates are getting busy. Below Maryland Juice discusses a few upcoming political showdowns, starting with pundit speculation about who might take Nancy Pelosi's place as the Democratic leader of the U.S. House:

JUICE #1: REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN VS. REP. STENY HOYER FOR U.S. HOUSE MINORITY LEADER - Maryland Juice has been following the evolving story about U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's potential retirement. Indeed, Congressional Democrats are gearing up for a leadership shuffle and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer has been propping up centrist candidates and incumbents around the nation to try and take Nancy Pelosi's place. But pundits are beginning to discuss the possibility that the younger, more progressive Congressman Chris Van Hollen might be poised to challenge Hoyer for the top U.S. House spot. Indeed, Maryland Juice thinks he would better reflect the current trajectory of the Democratic Party nationally than Hoyer. Check out excerpts from the pair of articles below from Roll Call and Capital News Service (via Patch.com):

ROLL CALL: As speculation continues about the House Democratic leadership structure in the next Congress,  Rep. Chris Van Hollen  has been particularly busy....  He chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for two cycles and served as assistant to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who named him to the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction in 2011....

The scenario that some Democrats envision is that Van Hollen would be the beneficiary of a Pelosi-backed challenge to Hoyer for the Minority Leader’s job, should she step down after the elections. That could be the final chapter in the long and storied Pelosi-Hoyer rivalry. But the hurdles would be significant. Hoyer appears to maintain strong support in the Caucus and he’s served loyally for years under Pelosi, giving him a strong argument that it would be  his turn to lead....

But others keeping an eye on leadership intrigue note that leadership positions do not open up often, and that those in the party’s top echelon are very ambitious..... A Democratic strategist said the timing  “provides an opening to a challenger for one of the top leadership positions, but not much. If there’s anyone looking to run such a challenge, they’ll need to get their ducks in a row pretty quickly.”

Capital News Service updated the coverage on the story with this report (excerpt below):

CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE: If [Nancy Pelosi] were to resign, the most likely replacements would be Hoyer, Van Hollen or Clyburn, according [to University of Wisconsin professor David] Canon. Hoyer would be the next in the chain of succession as Democratic whip. "There is a tendency to just go up the leadership ladder and (Hoyer) is next in line. On the other hand, he is 73 years old," said Canon....

Van Hollen is younger, 53, and has built a high profile as a ranking member of the Budget Committee. He also played a key role as a past Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, which makes him popular with other members. "They're the ones in charge of handing out the money," said Canon adding, "He's someone who creates a lot of goodwill."

JUICE #2: BACK TO DEFEATING DELEGATE SAM ARORA IN 2014 - Now that the marriage equality battle in Maryland has ended, some are beginning to return their sights to Montgomery County's anti-civil rights backstabber, Delegate Sam Arora. Indeed, MoCo voters approved marriage equality with a whopping 65% support from all voters, but that means that within the Democratic Primary voting population the margin will be much higher. Even in the senior citizen precincts in Leisure World (which are in Sam Arora's District 19), a clear majority of voters approved marriage equality. Moreover, voters have apparently not forgotten about Sam Arora's betrayal. Check out the following amusing Sam Arora sighting from AmericaBlog:

AMERICABLOG: You might remember Sam Arora. Liberal Netroots youngster who worked for Hillary and got himself elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, with the help of all of his Democratic friends. Then turned around and stabbed them all in the back....

So we don’t like Sam Arora much. And a group of our friends are going to make it their personal mission to make sure that pint-sized bigot Sam Arora never works in Democratic politics again...

Anyway, one of our readers, Sue Cohen, was early voting in Maryland today (marriage equality is on the ballot). And who should she run into but Sam Arora... Here is Sue’s story.

Subject: My confrontation with Sam Arora (hint: it did not end well for him)

On line for early voting at the Bauer Rec Center in Rockville, who comes strolling down the line to offer info on… well who cares? I He spoke to me and I yelled at him: “Just STOP!” I put my hand up and said: “Oh no Sam. You pussed out on marriage equality — you can never say anything to me again!”

He started to back away and I finished with: “You are a one term delegate — go now!”

My daughter who was with me started laughing, as did the two men we were chatting with.  Sam quickly moved away and I loudly said: “What a coward that guy is — He takes money from the Marriage Equality people, pledges to vote for it then turns his back and votes “no” — Do not trust him!”

So not only did I vote a straight Democratic ticket, voted YES on Questions 4 & 6 , but called that bastard to account. A very good day.

Thanks,
Sue Cohen
Rockville MD

Even those who just moved into his District are aware of Sam Arora's betrayal. Check out the amusing posts I caught on Twitter recently:

EARLY WARNING: Those Democrats who choose to stand by Sam Arora in 2014 should be judged harshly for doing so. STAND WITH THE PARTY BASE & LET HIM SINK.


JUICE #3: 2016 WHITE HOUSE SPECULATION BEGINS ANEW - The national pundits are already back to rating the 2016 White House race. The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza pulled together a list of possible GOP and Democratic candidates, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is (of course) on the list. Interestingly, in a race without Hillary Clinton, Cillizza thinks that Cuomo is the front-runner. He also speculates that Maryland might be the most liberal state in the nation (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: "Handicapping the 2016 presidential field"

Andrew Cuomo: If Clinton and Biden stay out, the governor of New York starts the 2016 race as the frontrunner. (Yes, those are big “if’s” but we are talking about a race that’s four years away!) Cuomo has a lot going for him as a national candidate: 1) he’s from a big and very Democratic state 2) He has already demonstrated an ability to raise lots and lots of money 3) He has a golden last name in American politics 4) He shepherded the New York same-sex marriage bill to passage in the state legislature, making him a hero to the gay community nationally 5) He is a political operative at heart, having played a lead strategy role in his father’s various political machinations.

Martin O’Malley: The governor of Maryland is, from all indications, the most “in” of any of the people on this list when it comes to 2016. O’Malley used his perch as the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association this cycle to boost his profile among reporters, donors and activists. (O’Malley was a near-constant on the Sunday show chat circuit.) Working for O’Malley is his record governing perhaps the most liberal state in the country, a top-tier (and experienced) consulting team and his own native political acumen (O’Malley was mobbed up in the Gary Hart presidential bids of the 1980s.) Working against O’Malley is the sense that he may be a poor man’s Cuomo and that he isn’t a proven commodity on the big national stage. 

JUICE #4: MARYLAND GOP INSULTS PUNDITS WHILE SPINNING THEIR EPIC FAIL - Maryland Juice just caught another amusing article where state Republican officials were trying to claim victory after their slaughter at the ballot box. Check out the ridiculous comments from the Maryland GOP in The Gazette. The Republican spokesperson quoted below even insults the political science professors who are calling the GOP out-of-touch with Maryland (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: ...the Maryland Republican Party did not have a bad night from Tuesday’s election results, the party’s spokesman said. “I actually think the opposite,” Maryland Republican Party spokesman David Ferguson said Wednesday. “We had a great day....” “If they say this is a Republican failure, that’s absolutely false,” Ferguson said. “If there’s any perception [Tuesday] was a bad day, it’s backwards....”

“It’s clear the Republican Party led by the Tea Party is out of sync with voters in Maryland,” said Tim Magrath, executive director of the J. Glenn Beall Jr. Institute for Public Affairs at Frostburg State University. “The times that Republicans have done well in Maryland is when they are moderate....”

The Maryland Republican Party’s opposition to the state Dream Act as it was approved in Maryland “flew in the face of what Latinos were looking for” and showed they were out of step with most Marylanders, said Stella M. Rouse, assistant professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, College Park....

“These are political science professors who sit in offices and have never run campaigns,” Ferguson said....

More on the post-election strategery soon!

JuiceBlender: Post-Election Analyses of Maryland Results // PUNDIT CONSENSUS: Maryland Republican Party Out of Touch

UPDATE: Maryland Juice just caught some interesting post-election musings from Joe Steffen (aka "the Prince of Darkness"). Steffen was a former operative for GOP Governor Bob Ehrlich. Like rightwing Gazette columnist Blair Lee, the Prince of Darkness compares the current state of Maryland Republicans to the now extinct Whig Party. Check out Steffen's thoughts below, and note that Maryland Juice agrees that a new focus on libertarian-minded views might present the GOP their only way to navigate social issues in Maryland (and perhaps nationally):

PRINCE OF DARKNESS: It’s very simple. The GOP must – MUST – Libertarianize itself as concerns the social issues. It must find a way to wean itself from the social conservative issues as many of the current stances taken by the Party are killing the Party with their demands for absolute purity....

Among a number of other issues the GOP simply MUST deal with is the Hispanic population.... And by “deal with,” I mean in ways other than sending Sheriff Billy Bob McDoughnut after them to check out their papers. The Latinos are here. They are not going anywhere. And they are growing – and voting Democratic in huge numbers. Deal with them, Republicans – or there’s another issue sending you the way of the Whigs.

Below Maryland Juice compiles a number of interesting analyses of the Free State's 2012 election results. The day after the election, we declared that the results showed Maryland Republicans are out-of-touch and have been living in a bubble, and it appears that most politicos agree. See a few comments about the Maryland election results below:

JUICE #1: BALTIMORE SUN CALLS RESULTS A "REALITY CHECK" FOR MD GOP - Yesterday, The Baltimore Sun published an editorial pointing out the numerous delusions that Maryland Republicans adopted as reality while they campaigned against the Dream Act and marriage equality. Their opinion piece blared that the "referendum mania in 2012 showed there is no silent conservative majority" (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: When Maryland Republicans, led by freshman Del. Neil Parrott of Washington County, succeeded in putting the Dream Act on the ballot, state GOP Chairman Alex Mooney called it a "game changer" and a counterweight to Democrats who "think that they can do what they want." When Republicans got the congressional maps on the ballot, Del. Steve Schuh, an Anne Arundel County Republican, called it a "major change to our democracy in Maryland," adding, "we have an arrogant majority...."

But as it turns out, the Democratic majority in Annapolis was pretty well in tune with the voters when it came to in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, same-sex marriage and the redrawing of the state's congressional districts.... The lesson here for the GOP is that Maryland is not a conservative state, and there is not a silent majority that disapproves of things like the Dream Act....

JUICE #2: PUNDITS SAY RESULTS SHOW MARYLAND'S PROGRESSIVE STREAK & DEMOCRATIC DOMINANCE - Capital News Service had an interesting round-up of post-election comments from various politicos. Their piece highlighted contrasting views on whether Maryland's election results were a function of a progressive streak in voters or simply Democratic dominance (excerpt below):

CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE: “(Gov. Martin) O’Malley and the Democrats have complete control,” said Blair Lee, political columnist at The Gazette newspapers.... “Republicans are almost now gone the way of the Whig Party in terms of influence and presence....”

Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, a Rockville-based think tank, agreed that Tuesday night’s results emphasized one-party dominance in the state. “In terms of Republicans and messaging, they need to have a very serious meeting and realize their messaging is not working, their leadership is not working,” he said....

“Maryland is a more progressive state than any other,” said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland....

JUICE #3: MARYLAND RESULTS DEBUNK MYTH OF BLACK VOTER OPPOSITION TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY - The Gazette yesterday published a piece noting that African American voters in Maryland were instrumental to the marriage equality victory. Contrary to popular belief, jurisdictions with dense black voter populations did not vote against Question 6 in the numbers opponents predicted. In Baltimore, voters appear to be more closely aligned with Maryland's progressive voter base (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: In Maryland, the measure, known as Question 6, received 57 percent support in Baltimore but just 49 percent support in Prince George’s County.... More than 60 percent of the population in each area is African-American, a group widely assumed to oppose same-sex marriage, observers say. Tuesday’s returns, including a stronger-than-expected-showing in Prince George’s, debunked that notion, said Del. Mary L. Washington (D-Dist. 43) of Baltimore....

The Baltimore win was particularly significant since many black church leaders from the city had spoken against the measure, said Donald Norris, chair of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.... Overall the passage of Question 6 reaffirmed the image of Maryland as a deep-blue state, Norris said. “On social issues, the state is trend much more liberal than many others,” he said....

The measure’s victory in Frederick County also took some by surprise. “I am very surprised that in Frederick County people voted for it in the majority,” said Steve Gottlieb, chairman of the Frederick County Republican Central Committee....

JUICE #4: MARYLAND GOP CHAIR ALEX MOONEY TRIES TO CLAIM VICTORY AFTER PROGRESSIVE ELECTION RESULTS - Politicos are scoffing at a post-election message that Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney sent out declaring victory for Free State Republicans. Mooney pointed to Cecil County GOP victories as proof. Check out some of his delusions below (excerpt below):

ALEX MOONEY: Fellow Republicans, I would like to first thank you for all of your hard work during this election season. While November 6th didn't bring all of the results we sought, Maryland Republicans continued to succeed--notably in Cecil County where I am pleased to inform you that Tari Moore, a Republican, won the newly created County Executive position. Republicans Robert Hodge and Alan McCarthy also won both County Council seats in Cecil County which were up for election on Tuesday.

We now have over 1 million registered Republicans in Maryland--and that number is growing.... What's more, we were able to petition three of Martin O'Malley's signature pieces of legislation to referendum.... All of this success is a direct result of your efforts...

We had a great crop of candidates in this cycle ... their candidacies laid the groundwork for the 2014 elections and changing the conversation in Maryland, which has been one-sided for far too long....

The Maryland GOP's Executive Director also attempted to spin the results as a success for his party. Check out the remarks in The Capital Gazette:

CAPITAL GAZETTE: Despite going 0-for-3 in the Maryland GOP’s Tuesday referendum rollout, Republican Party officials say putting the Dream Act, same-sex marriage and congressional redistricting up for statewide votes was a successful strategy....

“When people say Tuesday’s election was a loss for the GOP, it absolutely was not. I didn’t expect the headline in the Annapolis Capital (Wednesday) to be ‘Maryland Republicans have overwhelming success,’ but it ought to be....”

“I don’t know how you could look through that narrow of a lens and think it was a good thing for the Republican Party,” said House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Annapolis....

Some Republican activists in Maryland are incredulous about the claims of victory from the state party and are placing the blame at the feet of Alex Mooney. See a couple of Tweets below:

More analysis of Maryland election results soon!

NEWS CHANNEL 8: Maryland Juice & Sen. David Harrington Dissect the Ballot Question Results on TV // WATCH ONLINE

Today Maryland Juice was a guest on News Channel 8's "News Talk" show. Host Bruce DePuyt invited me on to dissect Maryland's ballot questions, along with former State Senator David Harrington. You can hear our thoughts on gambling, marriage equality, and the Dream Act below (two videos):

AFTERMATH // Analysis of Maryland Election Results: MD GOP Lives in a Bubble & Montgomery Co. Is Now MD's San Francisco

Below Maryland Juice discusses various aspects of the statewide ballot question results, along with the outcomes of our Congressional races.  After we run through the numbers, we put the broad results into context. See below:

BIG VICTORY FOR DEMOCRATIC LEADERS IN MD // ALL STATEWIDE BALLOT QUESTIONS PASS: The passage of all of the statewide ballot measures (which wasn't a sure bet at all) should be seen as a huge victory for Maryland's Democratic leaders. They muscled together coalitions for a number of controversial measures, and they emerged on election night with a perfect score. Even though I don't agree with some of the referenda that passed, I have to admit that this was an impressive feat. Below you can see some summary figures on the referenda, along with some of my notes:

• Question 1 - Qualifications for Prince George's Orphans' Court Judges: 87.7% for vs. 12.3% against

• Question 2 - Qualifications for Baltimore County Orphans' Court Judges: 87.9% for vs. 12.1% against

• Question 3 - Suspension of Elected Officials Upon Conviction: 88.0% for vs. 12.0% against
   
• Question 4 - Dream Act: 58.3% for vs. 41.7% against
  • Note: A majority of voters in the following counties voted "for" the Dream Act - Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Somerset, Wicomico.
   
  
• Question 5 - Congressional Districts: 63.5% for vs. 36.5% against
  • Note: The Congressional District plan won large majorities in the Democratic strongholds of Montgomery, Prince George's and the Baltimore region.

• Question 6 - Marriage Equality: 51.9% for vs. 48.1% against (93,849 Vote Margin out of 2.4 million)
  • Note: A majority of voters in the following counties voted "for" marriage equality - Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery. The measure failed in Prince George's County by only 4,000 votes, making the issue a virtual 50/50 split among voters there.
   
  
• Question 7 - Gambling Expansion: 52% for vs. 48% against
  • Counties for Gambling Expansion: Baltimore City, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George's, St Marys, Somerset, Washington, Wicomico & Worcester
  • Counties against Gambling Expansion:Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Dorchester, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot  

One interesting factoid to note is that Frederick and Anne Arundel Counties voted "for" marriage equality, but "against" the Dream Act.

MOCO HELPS DRIVE PROGRESSIVE SURGE // IS MONTGOMERY COUNTY MARYLAND'S POLITICAL "SAN FRANCISCO"? - Indeed, I have often been accused (by Democrats and Republicans alike) of living in a liberal bubble. But it now seems that it is the conservatives and their allied Democratic naysayers who are increasingly the ones out-of-touch with the mainstream of Maryland politics. Times are clearly changing, and old school attitudes that may have once been the norm are now giving way to the forces of rapid diversification of Maryland's population. At the driver's seat of this change is the growing cadre of diverse, liberal-minded Democratic voters in Montgomery County. 

Two Montgomery County lawmakers pointed out the growing importance of MoCo for pushing progressive politics in Maryland. Delegate Anne Kaiser sent her MoCo delegation colleagues a congratulatory email about marriage equality, and her message noted that Montgomery County's motherlode of liberal votes was instrumental to the passage of Question 6 (see below):

ANNE KAISER: Dear colleagues - Today, I'm reminded that not only did 31 of 32 Montgomery County legislators vote for marriage equality this past year, but each of us also cosponsored the legislation.  And beyond that, I sensed that we all also shared a deep conviction about the issue and a strong personal desire for the ballot measure to pass last night.

In case you hadn't seen the county by county results, Montgomery County voters supported the measure 65-35%.  But more importantly, without our county's 120,000 vote margin, the vote would have failed in Maryland.  I imagine you all join me in being proud of the role our county played in making Maryland the first state in the nation to win marriage equality in a referendum. 

Thanks for your friendship and support.

State Senator Jamie Raskin echoed similar sentiments in a victory email blast today (excerpt below):

JAMIE RASKIN: In Maryland, we made history, becoming the first state in the Union to uphold marriage equality, by a healthy margin of 52%, at the polls.  (In Montgomery County ... we won a massive 65% of the vote.) We were quickly followed last night by Maine, Minnesota and Washington state, where voters again stood up for equal rights for all and the right of all people to love and have the legal recognition  of their marriages, families and children.  The tide of history has turned.

We made history again by passing the Dream Act--by a resounding 58% margin and a stunning 72% in Montgomery County, which has proven to be the progressive powerhouse in the state. 

LEISURE WORLD SUPPORTS MARRIAGE EQUALITY: Lastly, to prove how thoroughly liberal in nature Montgomery County has become, Paul Bessel sent us a quick note about the results from the precincts in Leisure World -- a large community of seniors at some of the largest Democratic precincts in the state:

PAUL BESSEL: It may be of interest to you and your blog readers that voters in Leisure World may have surprised some people. It was reported in the press that "older voters" were less enthusiastic about marriage equality than others. Leisure World has proven that is not true.

The Maryland Board of Elections is currently reporting that the state totals are about 51% to 49% in favor of Question 6. The votes cast in Leisure World on November 6 --- this doesn't include early voting, where Leisure World voters voted early in higher proportion than others --- were 56% to 44% in favor of marriage equality (1,783 to 1,417).

So, the "older voters" of Leisure World supported Question 6 in higher proportions than the overall vote in Maryland.

In general, Leisure World voters, as expected, supported President Obama by a huge proportion, as well as Senator Ben Cardin and Congressman Van Hollen. For MoCo Board of Education, Leisure World supported incumbents Phil Kauffman and Chris Barclay, and challenger Rebecca Smondrowski.

DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS WIN LANDSLIDE ELECTIONS: Democratic House incumbents thoroughly trounced their Republican opponents -- even when campaigning in vastly new districts. Meanwhile, Ben Cardin won a majority of voter support for his re-election, while his nearest challenger trailed by double-digits. Indeed, each of Maryland's incumbent Democrats won their election battles handily and should now feel they have a mandate from their constituents to push for a progressive agenda when they return to Congress. No excuses next session!

In the newly drawn 6th Congressional District battle, Democrat John Delaney crushed GOP Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. We could all feel the slow and painful implosion of the Bartlett campaign over the course of the last few weeks, so this result is a little bit anti-climactic. It now remains to be seen what kind of Congressman Mr. Delaney turns out to be and what his issue priorities will be.

Lastly, Tea Partier Andy Harris easily won-re-election against Democrat Wendy Rosen (who dropped out of the race a few weeks ago) and write-in candidate John LaFerla. Unfortunately, shoring up Rep. Harris' district was one of the consequences of trying to take down Roscoe Bartlett. Check out the summary results below (winners in bold):

• SENATE: Ben Cardin (D) 55.2% vs. Dan Bongino (R) 26.6% vs. Rob Sobhani (U) 16.9% 
• CD1: Andy Harris (R) 63.9% vs. Wendy Rosen (D) 27.0% vs. Write-In 5.3% vs. Muir Wayne Boda (L) 3.8%
• CD2: Dutch Ruppersberger (D) 65.4% vs. Nancy Jacobs (R) 31.3% vs. Leo Wymowski (L) 3.2%
• CD3: John Sarbanes (D) 66.5% vs. Eric Knowles (R) 29.8% vs. Paul Drgos (L) 3.5%
• CD4: Donna Edwards (D) 76.8% vs. Faith Loudon 21.1% vs. Scott Soffen (L) 2.0%
• CD5: Steny Hoyer (D) 69.2% vs. Tony O'Donnell (R) 27.9% vs. Bob Auerbach (G) 1.4% vs. Arvin Vohra (L) 1.3%
• CD6: John Delaney (D) 58.6% vs. Roscoe Bartlett (R) 38.1% vs. Nickolaus Mueller (L) 3.2%
• CD7: Elijah Cummings (D) 76.2% vs. Frank Mirabile (R) 21.1% vs. Ronald Owens-Bey (L) 2.6%
• CD8: Chris Van Hollen (D) 62.5% vs. Ken Timmerman (R) 33.8% vs. Mark Grannis (L) 2.1% vs. George Gluck (G) 1.5%

CONTEXT // MARYLAND CONSERVATIVES LIVE IN A BUBBLE - Maryland Juice has for a long time believed that conservative activists and lawmakers have been turning the Maryland Republican Party into a regional party, unable to win statewide races. The election returns last night provided further support for this theory. Numerous GOP lawmakers in recent years have been deploying in Maryland, the most inflammatory and divisive tactics from the rightwing toolbox of campaign tricks (ie: campaigns driven by immigrant scapegoating, race-baiting, and homophobia). But while those deplorable tactics might work in other more homogeneous states, I never believed they made sense in a state with a densely Democratic and diverse electorate - like we have in Maryland.

Granted, Maryland Democrats redrew the Congressional Districts in their favor, but the truth is that the Republican challengers facing Democratic incumbents never had a path to victory. None of them campaigned on the issues in a viable way in their majority-Democratic districts, and instead each of them tried to act as if they could rile up the small GOP base enough to overcome the rest of the electorate. Some of them still seemed surprised that independents and Democrats were not attracted to their message.

Is the GOP stuck? It is perhaps possible that the Republican primary electorate is too conservative for the party's nominees to win general elections. If that is so, then Maryland Republicans might want to consider opening their primaries. Otherwise, they should be prepared to face a long electoral dryspell or endless battles between factions.  

Either way, what happens next ought to be fun to watch....

HISTORY: Maryland Voters Approve Marriage Equality

Maryland Juice is pleased to announce that news outlets are calling marriage equality a victory in the Free State. Maryland residents did not let us down, and we just became one of the first states in the nation to approve marriage equality at the ballot box. The Maryland Board of Elections is currently reporting the following result (at 12:24 am), though there are still a number of precincts outstanding:

• QUESTION 6: 51.2% "for" vs. 48.8% "against"

If you got a problem with that, there's always Virginia!