In the battle among 18 Democrats to replace Paul Sarbanes in the U.S. Senate, the leading choice seems to be “undecided,” according to the most recent published poll.
To the other leading candidates in the race, the poll offers encouragement, surprise and even incredulity.
“It means the race is still wide open,” said candidate Allan Lichtman, an American University professor.
The poll published in The Sun on Monday showed the top contenders “in a virtual tie,” with Rep. Ben Cardin at 32 percent, ex-Rep. Kweisi Mfume at 28 percent and 36 percent of Democratic primary voters still undecided.
“The numbers in the general [election] are very encouraging,” said Cardin, who leads Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele 47 percent to 36 percent; Mfume leads Steele 42 percent to 40 percent, according to The Sun poll.
Mfume said, “I?m encouraged that there are not a lot of people who have jumped on the bandwagon” for Cardin, who leads in both endorsements and fundraising.
“It?s good for me that people are still not making up their minds up,” Mfume said, rather than listening to the “good ol? boys” supporting Cardin.
“The most exciting part of that is how much the electorate is undecided,” said Alyson Chadwick, a spokeswoman for candidate Josh Rales. “Polls at this stage are all about name recognition. I think it?s exciting there?s so much room for improvement.”
Dennis Rasmussen received 1 percent in the poll.
“I question the validity of the poll,” he said, noting his own numbers show him with support of between 8 and 12 percent.
The numbers for Mfume and Cardin “have barely moved,” and “the undecideds have won every poll so far,” Rasmussen said. “That says to me that a number of the people are uncomfortable with the candidates.”
