President Obama is wading into the tight Maryland governor’s race with plans to join Gov. Martin O’Malley on the campaign trail next week and with a new radio ad endorsing the Democratic incumbent.
The president will travel to Maryland on Oct. 7 to rally voter turnout in support of O’Malley, who is running for re-election against Republican former Gov. Bob Ehrlich. A location has not yet been confirmed, according to O’Malley campaign spokesman Rick Abbruzzese.
The president’s visit — and his ability to pump up voter turnout — could swing the polls in O’Malley’s favor, campaign analysts say. The latest independent poll show the two candidates in a statistical dead heat.
“I think Maryland is one place where President Obama can have a positive impact for Democrats,” said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Washington newsletter the Rothenberg Political Report.
“Of the dozens and dozens of other races we are following, just rallying the party base usually isn’t enough to get you on top,” he said. “But in Maryland, it gets the governor pretty close to where he needs to be.”
High voter turnout is essential for Maryland Democrats, who outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.
But Democratic turnout waned in the Maryland primaries.
“Someone has to figure out how to get people out and voting,” said Jerry Pasternak, senior political and policy adviser to former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan. “The turnout numbers are a real blow. It’s going to take White House rallies [to drive voters to the polls] in Maryland.”
Black Democrats — whose turnout is traditionally low in Maryland — are particularly valuable to O’Malley, political activist Radamase Cabrera said.
“If Obama can get them to the polls, [black and Latino voters] will decide the election,” said Cabrera, a resident of Prince George’s County.
Obama began soliciting votes for O’Malley on Tuesday in a radio ad airing in the Baltimore market. The ad will hit the Washington region’s airwaves next week.
Campaign analyst Larry Sabato said Obama’s involvement in Maryland is a sign that O’Malley needs help.
“Maryland is a deeply blue state,” said Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “If [Obama] shows up a lot, than it means that [the race] is nip and tuck.”
