ICYMI: 76 Percent of Voters Up for Grabs in Dem Primary for Md. Governor

In case you missed it, here are five key points to keep in mind in the wake of a new poll from Goucher College, conducted in partnership with WYPR and the Baltimore Banner.

“Three-fourths of voters have yet to commit to a candidate, so it is absurd for the press to ordain someone a frontrunner who is polling at 14 percent,” said Shaun Daniels, campaign manager for Attorney General Doug Gansler’s campaign. “One guy spent five million dollars peddling a false narrative and is only at 14 percent. When the poll started, we were not even on the air. We’ve remained patient and strategic with our resources and waited until voters were tuned in before we went up. This race is wide open, and we look forward to spending the final weeks speaking with as many people as we can about the Gansler–Hollingsworth plan to make Maryland safe.”

76 Percent of Voters are Up for Grabs

76 percent of likely Democratic voters indicated they are either undecided or could change their minds about who to vote for in Maryland’s July 19 primary election for governor.

“It’s clear that the only ones winning right now are the undecided voters,” reporter Mikenzie Frost noted in Fox45’s coverage of the poll.

No Candidate Polled Above 16 Percent Despite Millions in Spending

Despite millions of dollars in spending, no candidate polled higher than 16 percent, showing that no message had yet broken through with voters.

Gansler’s compelling ad on crime had not hit air waves until after the poll was in the field. In a WYPR panel on the Goucher poll, the Baltimore Banner’s Pam Wood noted that candidates with money “will try to to make a move. We’re talking about Doug Gansler…”

In a General Election Head-to-Head with a Hogan-like Republican, a Progressive Democrat Will Lose by 17 points

A poll conducted by Goucher College showed that a Hogan-like Republican (Kelly Schulz) would defeat a progressive Democrat by 17 points

Doug Gansler is the Only Pro-Business, Pro-Law Enforcement, Moderate Democrat in the Race

Gansler is the only active candidate who has centered his campaign on public safety, with the Baltimore Sun editorial board noting that crime is “the centerpiece issue for gubernatorial candidate Doug Gansler, the former Montgomery County State’s Attorney and Maryland Attorney General”.

In an on-camera interview with Fox45’s Mikenzie Frost, Gansler said, “I’m the only moderate, pro-business, pro-law enforcement Democrat in the field. If Candace Hollingsworth and I don’t win the primary, we’re going to have a Republican governor. That’s going to be bad for the abortion issue, that’s going to be bad for guns, and it’s going to be terrible for Baltimore City.”

Gansler would suspend the gas tax through executive order. He said, “The increase in the gas tax is tied to inflation, and the state should not benefit off the backs of Marylanders who are already getting crushed by rising prices.”

In the wake of last month’s SCOTUS decisions, we must elect a Democrat to protect abortion rights and get guns off our streets.

“Democrats have lost three of the last five gubernatorial elections,” said former Hyattsville Mayor and Lt. Governor candidate Candace Hollingsworth. “The Democratic primary is wide open, and there is no other candidate in this race with a proven record of fighting gun violence and of taking on the Bush administration when it tried to chip away at abortion rights. I had an abortion; I know that personal experience and my path would have been much different without access to this fundamental right to care. We need leaders who understand firsthand what’s at stake. The Gansler–Hollingsworth team is the best-qualified ticket to protect reproductive rights and to get guns off our streets, and we are the best-positioned team to beat the anti-choice Kelly Schulz in November.”