As the race for Maryland governor picks up in intensity in the coming weeks heading into the fall, Public Policy Professor and Chair Donald Norris was in the news this past week providing analysis on the state of the campaign.

“It’s clearly Anthony’s to lose,” said Norris in an August 14 article in The Baltimore Sun when referring to Democratic candidate Anthony Brown’s chances of winning the election. In a separate article, Norris commented on an event held at the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) Convention in which Brown and Republican candidate Larry Hogan appeared separately to avoid face-to-face confrontation.

“There’s no reason for the front-runner to give the challenger any more opportunity to interact than necessary,” he said. “It’s not in the interest of the front-runner to do that.” Norris added history shows that the leader does not pay a political price for avoiding an opponent.

In an August 22 article, Norris commented on the messaging that Brown used with some of his policies to raise the minimum wage, to provide prekindergarten for children and to lower the cost of college in his first general election campaign television ad which aired recently in the Baltimore market: “I think this will be a campaign theme, and I expect we’ll see a lot more of it,” he said. “He’s going to be aiming that message at important subgroups within the Democratic Party in Maryland.”

In a story that aired on FOX 45 Baltimore, Norris was interviewed at the MACO Convention, where he was promoting UMBC’s Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research: “We do research for local government so we want to be here to show them what we do,” Norris said, noting that the conference is all about learning and networking. “It’s where local government officials and state government officials get together, share information, share knowledge, and discuss solutions to problems,” Norris added.

You can read the complete coverage by clicking below:

Brown to strike first on airwaves (Baltimore Sun)
Pundits have advice for Brown, Hogan in governor’s race (Baltimore Sun)
Brown, Hogan make pitches to county officials (Baltimore Sun)
MACO Conference taking place during peak season in Ocean City (FOX 45)

Tags: CAHSS, PublicPolicy