Maryland Attorney General election, 2006

The 2006 Maryland Attorney General election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General of Maryland J. Joseph Curran declined to seek a sixth term in office, prompted by the fact that his son-in-law, Martin O'Malley was running for Governor and wanted to avoid a conflict of interest.[1] Montgomery County State's Attorney Doug Gansler won the Democratic primary to succeed Curran and faced off against Scott Rolle, the Frederick County State's Attorney who was unopposed in the Republican primary. Ultimately, Gansler crushed Rolle in a landslide and became the Attorney General of Maryland.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

As Gansler and Simms rolled out campaigns for Attorney General, they were joined by Montgomery County Councilman Thomas Perez, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, rolled out endorsements from unions, and aired television ads before the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that he did not meet the requirements to appear on the ballot as a candidate.[2] Glenn Ivey, the Prince George's County State's Attorney, was rumored to be a possible candidate[3] but ultimately declined to run. The Baltimore Sun announced its endorsement of Simms, declaring, "Mr. Gansler lacks Mr. Simms' breadth of experience and moderate temperament that is better suited for this critical role."[4] In the end, Gansler was able to comfortably defeat Simms and was able to win every county in the state except for Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

Results

Democratic Primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Doug Gansler 286,016 55.68%
Democratic Stuart O. Simms 227,699 44.32%
Totals 513,715 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican Primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Scott Rolle 179,054 100.00%
Totals 179,054 100.00%

General election

Polling

Source Date Gansler (D) Rolle (R)
Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. September 27, 2006 54% 26%

Results

Maryland Attorney General election, 2006[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Doug Gansler 1,043,458 60.99% -4.18%
Republican Scott Rolle 665,433 38.90% +4.14%
Write-ins 1,948 0.11%
Majority 378,025 22.10% -8.31%
Turnout 1,710,839
Democratic hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/001400/001493/html/sun8may2006.html
  2. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082500874.html
  3. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58116-2004Dec11.html
  4. ↑ http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2006/09/sunday-news-roundup.html
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Maryland State Board of Elections. Elections.state.md.us (2006-10-19). Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  6. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections. Elections.state.md.us (2006-12-19). Retrieved on 2011-06-18.