Presumed Maryland Senate winner Ben Cardin was claiming victory over Michael Steele late Tuesday as the lieutenant governor told supporters he refused to concede defeat.
With 34 percent of precincts statewide reporting, the two were virtually tied at 49 percent of the vote apiece, yet CNN and The Associated Press had declared Democratic front-runner Cardin the ultimate winner.
“I am humbled to have won this election, knowing it was the Paul Sarbanes’ seat in the Senate,” Cardin told supporters in Baltimore at about 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Just minutes before, though, Steele vowed to keep on fighting until all the votes, including the nearly 200,000 absentee ballots statewide.
National polls this week had the two men within just a few percentage points of each other.
The state’s lieutenant governor since January 2003, Steele is trying to make history as the first black man elected to statewide office in Maryland. He has made a point of suggesting that he’s more independent than his Republican affiliation lets on.
While greeting voters at Kettering Middle School in Upper Marlboro, where he voted Tuesday morning, Steele said he felt confident voters are looking for his brand of change, not Cardin’s.
“People want to see the next generation of leaders step up, and I think I represent that,” he said. “We have had the momentum in the last two weeks, and we are moving in the right direction.”
The more politically experienced of the two, Cardin was elected to the House of Representatives in 1987 and boasts 40 years of experience in public office.
Throughout the summer and fall, the Democratic front-runner has campaigned as a dissenting voice against President Bush, to whom he said Steele is closely aligned.
Speaking during a stop to rally campaign workers and greet voters Tuesday morning, Cardin said he was feeling great about his electability.
“People want a senator that is opposed to the war in Iraq and not afraid to stand up to George Bush,” he said. “They want a senator who will help the economy grow and not go along with George Bush’s irresponsible tax cuts.”
With virtually no competition during the primaries, Steele did little campaigning until September. Cardin, meanwhile, faced a mighty battle with former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume in the primary, winning by a scant 3 percent margin.
Analysts have said voter turnout Tuesday will be supremely important in determining the Cardin-Steele winner, with Prince George’s County expected to be key ground in the race.
Part of the Washington DC Examiner’s 2006 election coverage.
