Race For Governor

In the lackluster race for governor this year, picking a partner is taking on added significance. The Democratic front-runner chose an inexperienced running mate for lieutenant governor who swings him far to the left, while the Republican leader selected a veteran legislator who pulls her forcefully toward the center. It helps both gubernatorial hopefuls in their respective primaries but raises a new set of problems for them in the November election.Rep. Helen Bentley's choice of Sen. Howard Denis of Montgomery County for her ticket is being widely praised.

WITH MORE THAN three months before the general election, The Sun's poll of voter opinion suggests a real race for governor of Maryland. The likely Republican nominee, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the Democratic frontrunner, find themselves separated by a mere 3 percentage points. Mr. Ehrlich has erased -- or Ms. Townsend has squandered -- a lead of 15 percentage points over the last six months. She leads, but no more than 47 to 44, with 10 percent undecided.

ANYONE WHO IS just tuning in to Election 2002 will find a tight race for governor -- and a state split along the fault lines of race, region and issues, according to a new poll taken for The Sun. Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend holds a narrow lead over Republican Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. -- 45 percent to 43 percent -- with 12 percent undecided. Bottom line: It's contentious and close. Also volatile. In populous and politically sophisticated Montgomery County, a key battleground, Ms. Townsend is well ahead.

THE 1998 RACE for governor, which might have begun a few hours after the 1994 race for governor ended, is taking on a certain edge.Ellen R. Sauerbrey, bidding fair to be the GOP candidate in 1998 just as she was in 1994, has so far been notably temperate in commenting on Gov. Parris N. Glendening's handling of the Pfiesteria piscicida scare.The problem is serious, vexing and in need of the best scientific minds, she has been saying. Yesterday, though, she wondered if it isn't time for Glendening to reopen one of the rivers he closed out of public health concerns.

Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker, a Republican known for his blend of folksy wit and fiscal savvy, will formally enter the race for governor with an announcement in Ellicott City on Wednesday.Republican Party leaders consider Ecker, 68, a long shot against 1994 gubernatorial nominee Ellen R. Sauerbrey, 60. Even some of his closest allies in Howard tried to talk him out of running after a poll in July showed Sauerbrey's popularity high among party faithful.Ecker was an untried political player in 1990 when he upset an incumbent county executive.

Miracles do happen. The youthful and talented understudy, suddenly thrust into a Broadway show when the star breaks her leg, is a smash sensation. The little-known white-knight politician suddenly enters a crowded race for governor and surprises everyone by pulling a stunning upset.Yes, such fairy-tale endings are possible. Just ask Shirley MacLaine or Harry Hughes. Each one beat the odds -- Ms. MacLaine getting her big break in ''The Pajama Game,'' and Mr. Hughes achieving the state's greatest political shocker in his 1978 race for governor.

Dog on a tire. That's how someone once described Helen Delich Bentley.And it is significant that he could have been either a friend or a foe.That description, in fact, comes pretty close to Bentley's own, which I asked her to provide yesterday."

With a week to go until Election Day, Democrat Parris N. Glendening is intensifying his efforts to turn out voters, while Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey is striving to elevate her profile in Montgomery County, where the race for governor may well be decided.Both candidates are also jamming the airwaves, both radio and television, though the better-financed Mr. Glendening will be able to broadcast twice as many TV ads in the populous Baltimore and Washington areas as Mrs. Sauerbrey in the final week.

THE NEWSPAPERS last week were full of news about elephants, real and political. From the wild, we had Anna and Dolly, avuncular sojourners at the Baltimore Zoo. They're leaving town. Thanks to weather, snipers and a $700,000 cut in aid from the state, zoo officials need to make economies. The costly-to-maintain elephants will be placed in a breeding program run by various other zoos around the country. The symbolism is rich. Budget cutting has been somewhat abstract so far, but elephants are, to say the least, tangible.

Saturday outside Pimlico Racetrack, I bump into American Joe Miedusiewski, who is simultaneously the candidate for governor from East Baltimore and the man with the unanimously misspelled last name."