General Election

I believe our elected officials have possibly misunderstood the essential purpose of moving the Baltimore City mayoral primary and general election. The purpose is to increase voter turnout. Elected officials "having their cake and eating it too" by giving state officials a free shot at state office and vice versa discourages voter turnout. Initially, proponents of moving Baltimore elections onto the presidential cycle justified their position by claiming turnout in presidential primaries in the city far exceeded turnout in gubernatorial primaries.

Baltimore City senators are backing a bill to change the dates of municipal elections in a way that benefits them more than the people they are supposed to serve. Legislation that was originally intended to transition city elections to the same year that voters elect the governor and members of the General Assembly - as well as local offices in most other jurisdictions, and even some in Baltimore - has been amended to move them instead to the year of presidential primaries. That maximizes the opportunity for members of the city's Annapolis delegation to run for municipal offices without giving up their day jobs, but it fails to maximize the chance that a large number of voters will participate in the selection of the mayor and City Council.

One can hardly blame Mitt Romney and his supporters for suggesting that it's time for his GOP opponents to step aside. Although his victories on Super Tuesday were not as decisive as he might have liked, with about half the delegates committed so far the former Massachusetts governor remains very, very tough to beat for the Republican nomination. He may not set tea party hearts aflutter, but cold, hard numbers remain on Mr. Romney's side even if, as expected, he continues to face losses in some states ahead.

As the four surviving Republican presidential aspirants fight over which of them is the "true" conservative, are any of them aware that millions of moderates and, yes, quite a few liberals will also be voting in November? The views emanating from the Grand Old Party these days are pretty much devoid of middle-ground opinions and certainly of liberal sentiments. The merry band of real or masquerading right-wingers still competing for their party's nomination is so focused on preaching to the choir of conservatives that the rest of the country could be writing them off. The reality in our essentially two-party system is that winning the party nomination is the price of admission to the general election in the fall.

With respect to the state legislature, the phrase "Carroll County Delegation" is about to become inaccurate. The statewide redistricting process, particularly regarding the House of Delegates, has done us in. Of the eight delegates to be elected to our county's delegation in 2014, only three are guaranteed to be Carroll County residents. Because of the way the districts will be redrawn, three will be from a district that is vastly dominated by Frederick County and two will be from a Howard County district that has just a small section of Carroll in it. But because those districts will have a toe in Carroll, all their delegates will be members of the Carroll County Delegation — and will have a say in our affairs.

There's no disputing that Republicans are surly these days. With the exception of South Carolina, turnout among GOP voters has been tepid. Hordes of commentators, me included, have argued at length that this apathetic grumpiness reflects a deep dissatisfaction with the Republican field. Worse, many Republicans recognize that their cantankerousness over their choices makes things worse. It's a vicious cycle. As George Orwell once wrote: "A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks.

Robert Ballinger and David Gertler both ran unsuccessfully for the Howard County school board in 2010. They are candidates again and say their unsuccessful attempts have left them optimistic about their chances this year. "I feel stronger about this campaign because I was so close the last time," said Ballinger. Ballinger advanced to the November 2010 general election, where he finished sixth in the race for four seats with 10.6 percent of the vote. He was 1,363 votes behind fourth-place finisher Cindy Vaillancourt.

Sen. Ben Cardin won the support of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance on Monday in his bid for a second term, the latest in a series of endorsements the Democrat hopes will secure his support with black voters in the April primary election. Cardin, who is white, faces State Sen. C. Anthony Muse in the primary. In addition to his work in Annapolis, Muse leads an African-American church in Prince George's County. In 2006, Cardin faced a close Democratic primary race against former congressman and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume.

One of my favorite activities this primary season is to read the seemingly endless analyses of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The profiles run the gamut from glowing to scathing; just about every Washington pundit has a strong opinion of "Mr. Speaker. " Yet, most of the talking heads have not worked with the man or known him very well. I have worked with Newt, consider him a friend, but also understand the eccentricities of this fascinating leader. (I am also Maryland chairman of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.)