Montgomery County State?s Attorney Douglas Gansler downed Baltimore City opponent Stuart Simms for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general with a big win in Prince George?s County on Tuesday.
Considered a swing county, Prince George?s went to Gansler, who received 53.2 percent of the county?s votes compared to 38.6 percent for Simms,a former city state?s attorney, according to the unofficial count from the Board of Elections Wednesday.
“The key jurisdiction was Prince George?s,” said American University?s David Lublin, associate professor of government in the School of Public Affairs.
“It was a county where region trumped race. Gansler has long planned to run for this office and had courted P.G. leaders for a long time, and it paid off.
“Simms sought the office late and didn?t have enough money. Was he even able to make Prince George?s voters aware that he was an African-American candidate for statewide office?”
In the rest of the state, Gansler won with 55.9 percent of the vote compared to Simms? 44.1 percent, according to the unofficial count from the Board of Elections.
Simms won his stronghold of Baltimore City easily ? 73.4 percent to 26.6 percent ? while Gansler took home big numbers in Montgomery County, by a margin of 71.4 percent to 28.6 percent.
Baltimore County went to Simms, while Anne Arundel, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties went to Gansler.
“We?re very pleased and excited that we won,” Gansler said, adding that he holds no ill will toward Simms for negative mailers sent out about him in the last week of the campaign.
“It?s hard to differentiate the campaign from the candidate, but in the case of Stu Simms you have to do that,” Gansler said.
“The campaign was very nasty. It was below the belt. But you have to attribute that to the campaign and not to Stu Simms.”
Gansler now will face Republican Scott Rolle, the Frederick County State?s Attorney.
“It?s down to two candidates now,” Rolle said. “The race is on.”
