“Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Howard County Executive Ken Ulman shook up Maryland’s 2014 gubernatorial race by announcing they will run as a ticket for the Democratic nomination in 2014. Politically and electorally, it’s a shrewd and gutsy move,” writes UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller in today’s Baltimore Sun.
Schaller notes, “Picking running mates before the primary remains unconventional,” with most gubernatorial and presidential candidates assuming they should make solo nomination bids and pick running mates only after receiving the nomination. Brown and Ulman, however, are positioning themselves as a complementary ticket, highlighting Brown’s service in the state legislature and executive levels and Ulman’s experience as county legislator and top county official. The candidates are also complementary in the voters they will draw, with Brown’s support in Prince George’s County, Montgomery County and Baltimore City, and Ulman’s strength in Howard County and Baltimore County.
How might gubernatorial aspirant Doug Gansler compete with the ticket? Schaller suggests he “convince rising star and openly gay [Del. Heather] Mizeur to join his ticket, setting up an epic clash for power within the post-O’Malley Democratic Party.”
