William Donald Schaefer, 84, has been in political life for 50 years as Baltimore City Council member, mayor, governor and now comptroller, but he may be facing a difficult race for re-election.
Two recent polls show Schaefer in a close Democratic primary race against Peter Franchot, a Montgomery County delegate little known outside the Washington suburbs.
The Gonzales Research poll released Tuesday had Schaefer leading Franchot 40 percent to 33 percent, with 27 percent undecided. A recent poll Franchot commissioned from Garin Hart Yang Research Group found Schaefer ahead by a similar single-digit margin, 42 percent to 36 percent, with 22 percent undecided.
“It appears ? Schaefer?s recent behavior had a deleterious effect on his re-election bid,” said pollster Patrick Gonzales, referring to Schaefer?s ogling of a young woman on the governor?s staff at a public meeting in February. “For a relatively unknown challenger to be this close is an ominous sign for the incumbent.”
In the Gonzales poll, Franchot is ahead of Schaefer in the metropolitan Washington area by 39 percent to 28 percent, with a third of the likely Democratic voters undecided. Among Democratic women, Schaefer and Franchot run dead even at 36 percent each.
Franchot, a liberal Democrat from Takoma Park, is billing himself as “the real Democrat” in the race. He notes how often Schaefer has voted with Ehrlich, a Republican, on the Board of Public Works, as he did Wednesday in cutting the state property tax rate.
Schaefer is also persistently critical of Baltimore City Mayor Martin O?Malley, Gov. Robert Ehrlich?s leading Democratic opponent, who is leading the governor in the polls. Schaefer joined Ehrlich Wednesday in again harshly criticizing the city?s management of its public schools.
Baltimore City Schools Superintendent Bonnie Copeland “is dominated by the mayor,” Schaefer said. “He tells her what to do” and is thus responsible for the failing schools.
