Category Archives: Rushern Baker

2022 Demcratic Primary, Nancy Navarro, Rushern Baker

Baker/Navarro Suspend Campaign

Former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and Montgomery Councilmember Nancy Navarro have suspended their ticket’s campaign for governor and lieutenant governor. While Baker was a major candidate for the Democratic nomination four years ago, his campaign just didn’t catch fire this time.

Baker cited the financial challenges facing the campaign. Navarro, who has a comparatively small political base in Montgomery and was unlikely to woo Latino voters and organizations away from Tom Perez’s campaign, didn’t hurt Baker’s campaign but also didn’t give it the additional lift it needed.

Of course, this frees up Navarro to spend more time sparring with County Executive Marc Elrich, something that seems only likely to increase after their public clash on “The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi” and Navarro’s endorsement of David Blair.

Even though Baker’s campaign didn’t get far, I am sure that other campaigns would welcome the endorsement of this well-known and respected figure in what remains a fluid race. I’ve already received a statement from Wes Moore’s campaign praising Baker and I am sure others are to follow if they haven’t already been issued.

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Adam Pagnucco, Rich Madaleno, Rushern Baker

MoCo Gubernatorial Primary: Precinct Results

By Adam Pagnucco.

Former NAACP President Ben Jealous won every county in Maryland in the Democratic primary except Prince George’s and Calvert, where Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker outpolled him.  In MoCo, Jealous received 35.6% of the vote and Baker received 32.5%, a difference of 3.1 points.  The precinct results we show below only include election day votes, which accounted for 68% of the votes cast for gubernatorial candidates in MoCo.  Still, they show the patterns of voting for Jealous and Baker as well as for Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), who finished third in the county, and former Michelle Obama aide Krish Vignarajah, who finished fourth.

Overall, MoCo saw a two-man race between Jealous and Baker.  Madaleno was a distant third; he finished first in Kensington but no higher than third anywhere else, including in District 18.  Vignarajah was fourth overall but finished third in Council District 2, State Legislative District 39 and several areas mostly located in Upcounty.  Generally speaking, Baker did well in white, wealthy areas in the southwest while Jealous won almost everywhere else.

Jealous’s Five Best Local Areas

  • Brookeville: 48% (first)
  • Takoma Park and Damascus: 46% (first)
  • Montgomery Village: 43% (first)
  • Silver Spring East County: 43% (first)

Jealous’s Five Worst Local Areas

  • Bethesda: 31% (second)
  • Leisure World: 31% (second)
  • Potomac: 28% (second)
  • Kensington: 28% (third)
  • Chevy Chase: 25% (second)

Baker’s Five Best Local Areas

  • Cabin John: 41% (first)
  • Bethesda: 39% (first)
  • Leisure World: 39% (first)
  • Potomac: 39% (first)
  • Chevy Chase: 38% (first)

Baker’s Five Worst Local Areas

  • Glenmont/Norbeck: 25% (second)
  • Clarksburg: 24% (second)
  • Poolesville: 24% (second)
  • Brookeville: 24% (second)
  • Damascus: 21% (second)

The racial differences in voting between Jealous and Baker can be easily seen in the demographic splits.  Baker won majority white precincts and the size of his advantage grew as the white percentage rose.  Jealous won “majority minority” precincts by 14 points.

One more factor to consider is the Washington Post, which endorsed Baker and attacked Jealous.  In a forthcoming blog post, we will compare the performance of Council At-Large candidates endorsed by the Post to those who were endorsed by MCEA.  The Post candidates’ performance was strongest compared to those supported by MCEA in Chevy Chase, Cabin John, Bethesda and Potomac – many of the same places where Baker performed best and Jealous performed worst.

We show the full splits below.

  

While Jealous won MoCo, he lost in the wealthy areas that tend to have disproportionate numbers of campaign contributors.  That’s an important fact to note since Jealous is trailing Governor Larry Hogan badly in fundraising from MoCo.  Jealous should tap into any MoCo surrogates he has, especially in Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac and Kensington, to help him fortify those areas and raise money from them.  If they don’t come around to the Democratic nominee, Jealous’s path to Government House will be that much harder.

Next, we will begin looking at the County Executive candidates.

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Craig Rice, Hans Riemer, Nancy Floreen, Nancy Navarro, Rushern Baker

Nancy Floreen’s Recommendations for the June Primary

By Council Member Nancy Floreen.

As someone in the unique position of watching the campaign season after 15 and a half years of being on the inside, I have pretty strong feelings about who are the right folks for electoral office.

My criteria:

Is that candidate well informed about the office he or she seeks?

Is that person an honest broker – ie – with the experience and grounding in reality that leads to genuine capacity for problem solving?

Is that person candid, or does that person have a different story for every audience?

Is that person humble or does that person take credit for shared initiatives or make promises that cannot be kept?

Does that person have the demonstrated temperament to treat people he or she disagrees with respectfully?

Is that person an independent thinker, or likely to be more influenced by endorsers?

Does that person have a track record of credible community engagement ?

Does that person have the backbone to stand up to political pressure?

Does that person have a genuine passion for the office, or is it just another job?

Does that person stand a chance in the General Election?

There are a lot of candidates out there, but not that many who satisfy my standards..

Here’s who I believe warrants your vote.

Noteworthy are my current council colleagues running for re- election – Hans Riemer, Craig Rice, Sid Katz, Nancy Navarro and Tom Hucker. We don’t all agree on everything all of the time, but they are hard working, committed and all have long histories of community engagement.

As for the open seats – these are my picks :

Governor – Rushern Baker. You try wrestling with an entrenched school system and come out alive! Tough, rational and caring.

County Executive – Rose Krasnow – an experienced, yet independent voice. The former Mayor of Rockville, she has wide ranging financial, government and nonprofit management expertise, and is deeply grounded in the county and community issues.

County Council At Large –

Gabe Albornoz – long experience with the reality of our community and the ways of government through the Recreation Department

Marilyn Balcombe – a long term fighter for the largely ignored upcounty

Evan Glass – a staunch community organizer, known for his work with the Gandhi Brigade

Council District 1 – Reggie Oldak – the only candidate who actually knows the county and how the Council works (as a former staff member) and a long time community advocate.

This is a very important election for our collective futures! Be thoughtful in your choices!

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Rushern Baker

Prince George’s Senators Endorse Rushern Baker

By Adam Pagnucco.

Ignoring a move by some Democrats to avoid early endorsements for Governor, four Senators from Prince George’s County have announced their support for County Executive Rushern Baker.  Following is their letter from Baker’s press release.

*****

Rushern L. Baker, III: the right Governor for all of us.

It is with great enthusiasm and pride that we offer our unconditional endorsement of Rushern L. Baker, III to be the next Governor of the State of Maryland.

Over the last seven years, we have worked side by side with County Executive Baker as he has transformed our County through his principled leadership, vision, and unquestioned passion for improving the quality of life for all residents.  During his tenure in office, thousands of jobs have been created in the County, property values have risen, crime has been significantly reduced, student achievement rose, previously forgotten areas of the County are being revitalized, and health care access nearly doubled.

In short, he is a high-character man of substance with a unique combination of executive, legislative and private sector experience whose achievements in transforming our County provides undisputable evidence that he remains the right choice to serve all the citizens of Maryland as Governor.

As public servants with close to a combined hundred years of experience serving the State of Maryland, we believe that more than anything, the majority of Marylanders want empathetic leaders they can trust to make decisions that not only serve the common good, but deliver outcomes for everyday people. Mr. Baker’s record of achievements serve as evidence that he wants to improve the quality of life for all of us by creating a strong economy, efficient government, and a high-quality public education system that creates opportunity regardless of whether a student lives in urban, suburban or rural Maryland.

We believe our citizens want a leader with the courage and skill to persuade powerful interests and assure high quality jobs that pay fair wages while also providing quality health care coverage for all.  They want a leader who will protect our environment and the Chesapeake Bay so that they have clean air, water, abundant recreational opportunities, and a healthy Maryland blue crab population.  They want a leader who will fight for affordable, quality health care, safe neighborhoods, and great housing options for all the hard working people who want to own a home.

We believe the leader Marylanders need is Rushern L Baker, III because he has demonstrated commitment to protecting these priorities.  He has experience in actually running a government and he isn’t afraid to work across the aisle.

For all these reasons, we are excited to begin the work of encouraging everyone to support Rushern L Baker, III to be the next Governor of the great State of Maryland.

Sincerely,

Senator Douglas J.J. Peters (D. 23, Senate Majority Leader)

Senator Paul Pinsky (D. 22)

Senator Joanne Benson (D. 24)

Senator Ulysses Currie (D. 25)

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Chris Van Hollen, Ike Leggett, Race, Rushern Baker

Baker and Leggett on Race and Endorsements

Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker got asked essentially why he, as an African-American leader, endorsed a white man over a black woman for U.S. Senate. Baker responded well and then Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett jumped in to give an exceptionally eloquent statement:

Regardless of whether you prefer Van Hollen, Edwards, or someone else, their answers as to why they support Chris Van Hollen speak to the content of both of these gentlemen’s character.

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Chris Van Hollen, Donna Edwards, Elijah Cummings, Endorsements, Rushern Baker, US Senate

Bad Day for Donna Edwards

Bakerendorsement

Rushern Baker Endorses Chris Van Hollen

Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker’s endorsement of Rep. Chris Van Hollen over Rep. Donna Edwards for U.S. Senate shows the tough road ahead for Edwards as the primary contest progresses. Not all endorsements matter. This one does.

While Van Hollen has the united support of the Montgomery County Executive and County Council, Edwards just lost the most prominent local official in her home base. Van Hollen has easily consolidated political support in his home base. In contrast, Edwards has now been served notice that she will have to fight hard to get Prince George’s to swing behind her.

It reinforces the existing media narrative that Edwards doesn’t work well with others either in Maryland or Congress. Moreover, it serves as a powerful signal to other African-American officials that it’s OK to endorse Van Hollen over Edwards. A further subtext is that Baker thinks Van Hollen will win so you should support early.

Edwards will try and counter as the authentic progressive candidate running against a corrupt establishment as when she challenged successfully Al Wynn. Except that she’s now a Member of Congress and part of the establishment so people want to see effectiveness as well as an ability to speak truth to power.

Moreover, neither Van Hollen nor Baker are Wynn. Both have strong reputations of wanting to clean up politics. Van Hollen, for example, has been a champion of campaign finance reform. The insufficiently liberal narrative won’t work on Van Hollen either and may just end up reinforcing that Edwards is less electable.

If Elijah Cummings enters the race, this can’t hurt him either, as it makes it easier for him to reach out to Prince George’s. In short, Cummings looks to have an easier time making inroads into Edwards’s base than vice-versa.

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