Sorry if this was posted or frontpaged already, I will delete if so. A
Rasmussen Reports polls shows Rep. Ben Cardin leading Lt. Gov Michael Steele in the race for U.S. Senate. I'm kind of suspicious of the poll though.
Rep. Ben Cardin(D): 49%(45)
Lt. Gov Michael Steele(R): 41%(40)
Steele(R): 45%(47)
Kweisi Mfume(D): 44%(40)
So both Dem candidates have improved from the last poll. I'm not from Maryland, but a few things I find weird about the poll:
-Bush's approval is 38%. Most national polls put his approval at around 38%. So his approval in deep blue MAryland, a state that went for Kerry by 13%, is the same as his national average?
-Steele gets 30% of the black vote against Cardin, but almost half that against Mfume(17%). Yet Mfume trails by one. Is it because Steele would do better with white voters against Mfume? I guess that's possible.
-The favorable/unfavorable surprise me too, with Steele's at 44-32, and Cardin at 34/29.
My take: Again, not from maryland, but I really see nothing appealing about Michael Steele. So far, the only thing he wants to talk about are non-existent Oreo cookies. Rep. Cardin isnt very charismatic, but he is a solid progressive vote. Combine that with the fact that Steele's boss is in trouble next year, with a possible challenge from popular Baltimore mayor Martin O'Malley and the fact that it is Maryland and that the wind could be blowing our way, and well, I think Cardin will win. Not to take Steele lightly, but the NJ Senate race worries me more than Maryland to be honest.
Candidate websites:
Ben Cardin for Senate
Kweisi Mfume for Senate
Michael Steele for Senate