Thanks to the ingenuity of former Maryland Democratic Party Chair Terry Lierman, all eyes will be focussed on the inside and outside the beltway crowd in DC, Maryland and Virginia next Tuesday. Terry specifically chose to move up Maryland's primary to the week following Super Tuesday in order to give Maryland some relevance in choosing the Democratic nominee. Then he convinced DC and Virginia to follow suit, setting up the February 12th Mid-Atlantic Primary otherwise dubbed the Potomac Primary.
Was the longtime friend of Howard Dean prescient or just lucky? Who knows?
All eyes with be on this presidential race AND the tight MD-04 race between Rep. Al Wynn and Donna Edwards.
Follow me past the flip......
From Last Week's (1/28) Washington Post:
This year, for the first time, the District, Maryland and Virginia hope to accomplish collectively what they have been unable to separately: become players in the selection of Democratic and Republican nominees. On Feb. 12, 1.5 million to 2 million voters could turn out to award 358 delegates (239 Democratic and 119 Republican) to candidates in what amounts to the Potomac Primary.
"Voters in these jurisdictions are going to have a chance to be very influential in terms of delegates," said Terry Lierman, former chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party. "The road to the White House runs through the mid-Atlantic primary."
Maryland's primaries had traditionally come too late to have much impact. It was Lierman, now chief of staff to House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who angled early last year to get the state legislature to move up the March 4 contest.
Super Tuesday, on Feb. 5, was an alternative. But, Lierman said, given all the larger states in play that day, Maryland probably would still get lost in the shuffle. Lawmakers settled on Feb. 12, and Lierman then approached Virginia and District leaders about leveraging the region's potential relevance by setting a unified date.
The District initially planned to hold its 2008 primary earlier than 2004's, on Jan. 8. Lierman enlisted D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) and council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who sponsored legislation shifting it to Feb. 12. Virginia, which had decided on Feb. 12 but was contemplating an earlier date, elected to stay put, Lierman said.
Meanwhile, increased Democratic turnout could impact the race between Rep. Al Wynn and challenger Donna Edwards which also will be determined on February 12th in Maryland CD 4. While both candidates have reached out frequently in the last couple months to "primary voters", a number of new voters could make this a less predictable race.
Videos on Wynn/Edwards race
The local Fox affiliate has a video of the two on it's website here.
The Washington Post will have its own debate footage up by 11 am this morning.
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So keep an eye on Maryland and the Potomac Primary. Next Tuesday could be quite a pivotal day.