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Howard County is up for grabs in this year's gubernatorial election, a Sun poll shows, and the results locally could be crucial statewide.
"We know we fought the JV team" in 2002, when then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend carried her party's banner, said state Republican Party Chairman John Kane.
This year, he said, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, the expected Democratic candidate for governor, will "run harder and stronger. Howard is a major battleground for us."
Both parties have state staffers working in Howard, and both plan to turn out as many voters as possible.
The Sun's poll, conducted by Potomac Inc., showed 22 of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions leaning heavily toward either Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., or O'Malley. Only Baltimore and Howard counties were close, with Ehrlich leading in both by narrow margins within the poll's margin of error.
In Howard, education and the economy were by far the top issues among those polled. While 59 percent of those surveyed in Howard said they approve of the job Ehrlich is doing, a slightly higher percentage (39 percent) said they have more confidence in Democrats to handle the most important problems in the state than they do Republicans (36 percent). Only 37 percent of Howard voters polled approve of the job President George W. Bush is doing.
The poll sampled 1,200 registered voters statewide, but only 83 voters in Howard, leading some to discount its validity.
"You can't tell a thing from 83 people. The margin of error is humongous," said Donald F. Norris, professor of public policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a Howard resident.
Still, he said, "I would have guessed Howard County is pretty divided anyway."
Pollster Keith Haller conceded "you would not craft a campaign strategy" based on the poll's results in Howard alone, but he said it does reveal "a trend line -- where things are moving."
The party breakdown of those polled matched the general voter registration, he said, though the margin of error with such a small local sample is plus or minus 9.8 percent.
"No question in the governor's race that Howard is on the bubble and is going to be fair ground for both candidates. It's more like a bellwether county for the entire state," Haller said, predicting that Howard residents likely will "be bombarded by the state campaigns because you are on the cusp.
Eight years ago, Howard voters gave Democratic incumbent Gov. Parris N. Glendening 53 percent of the vote to 46.5 percent for Republican challenger Ellen Sauerbrey. Four years ago, Ehrlich took victory in Howard with a 55 percent margin to Townsend's 44 percent.
Both sides are aware that Glendening beat Sauerbrey by just over 6,000 votes statewide in 1994 -- and Sauerbrey won in Howard by 5,268 votes -- which means even a small victory margin in a small county can be critical.
Partisan passions run deep in Howard this year, too. Republicans criticize O'Malley for Baltimore's chronically poor school performance, while Democrats hit Ehrlich as too closely aligned with Bush's unpopular policies.
"He's a '94 congressman, at the elbow of [former House Speaker] Newt Gingrich, who's brought home that [Karl] Rove-Bush type of rhetoric," said Tony McGuffin, Howard's Democratic Party chairman.
Brian Harlin, chairman of the county Republicans, said, "I understand people's feelings at a national level about the party -- people come down on either side of the [Iraq] war." But people agree, he contends, that Ehrlich is doing "a very good job."
"They may attack Ehrlich on being Republican, but he's done a lot of good stuff for the state," Harlin said.
Elizabeth Francis, 78, of Ellicott City, a retired teacher and tutor with grandchildren attending Baltimore schools, was among those surveyed. She is disturbed about how city schools are run and plans to vote for Ehrlich, she said.
"We know we fought the JV team" in 2002, when then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend carried her party's banner, said state Republican Party Chairman John Kane.
This year, he said, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, the expected Democratic candidate for governor, will "run harder and stronger. Howard is a major battleground for us."
Both parties have state staffers working in Howard, and both plan to turn out as many voters as possible.
The Sun's poll, conducted by Potomac Inc., showed 22 of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions leaning heavily toward either Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., or O'Malley. Only Baltimore and Howard counties were close, with Ehrlich leading in both by narrow margins within the poll's margin of error.
In Howard, education and the economy were by far the top issues among those polled. While 59 percent of those surveyed in Howard said they approve of the job Ehrlich is doing, a slightly higher percentage (39 percent) said they have more confidence in Democrats to handle the most important problems in the state than they do Republicans (36 percent). Only 37 percent of Howard voters polled approve of the job President George W. Bush is doing.
The poll sampled 1,200 registered voters statewide, but only 83 voters in Howard, leading some to discount its validity.
"You can't tell a thing from 83 people. The margin of error is humongous," said Donald F. Norris, professor of public policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a Howard resident.
Still, he said, "I would have guessed Howard County is pretty divided anyway."
Pollster Keith Haller conceded "you would not craft a campaign strategy" based on the poll's results in Howard alone, but he said it does reveal "a trend line -- where things are moving."
The party breakdown of those polled matched the general voter registration, he said, though the margin of error with such a small local sample is plus or minus 9.8 percent.
"No question in the governor's race that Howard is on the bubble and is going to be fair ground for both candidates. It's more like a bellwether county for the entire state," Haller said, predicting that Howard residents likely will "be bombarded by the state campaigns because you are on the cusp.
Eight years ago, Howard voters gave Democratic incumbent Gov. Parris N. Glendening 53 percent of the vote to 46.5 percent for Republican challenger Ellen Sauerbrey. Four years ago, Ehrlich took victory in Howard with a 55 percent margin to Townsend's 44 percent.
Both sides are aware that Glendening beat Sauerbrey by just over 6,000 votes statewide in 1994 -- and Sauerbrey won in Howard by 5,268 votes -- which means even a small victory margin in a small county can be critical.
Partisan passions run deep in Howard this year, too. Republicans criticize O'Malley for Baltimore's chronically poor school performance, while Democrats hit Ehrlich as too closely aligned with Bush's unpopular policies.
"He's a '94 congressman, at the elbow of [former House Speaker] Newt Gingrich, who's brought home that [Karl] Rove-Bush type of rhetoric," said Tony McGuffin, Howard's Democratic Party chairman.
Brian Harlin, chairman of the county Republicans, said, "I understand people's feelings at a national level about the party -- people come down on either side of the [Iraq] war." But people agree, he contends, that Ehrlich is doing "a very good job."
"They may attack Ehrlich on being Republican, but he's done a lot of good stuff for the state," Harlin said.
Elizabeth Francis, 78, of Ellicott City, a retired teacher and tutor with grandchildren attending Baltimore schools, was among those surveyed. She is disturbed about how city schools are run and plans to vote for Ehrlich, she said.
