Cardin ready to face Steele
2006-09-14
Source: Washington Times
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rss feedRep. Benjamin L. Cardin yesterday claimed the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Maryland, pitting himself against the Republican nominee -- Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele -- in a general election showdown that will hinge on racial issues and draw attention from across the country.
Just after 2 a.m. yesterday at the Wyndham Baltimore Hotel, Mr. Cardin delivered a victory speech aimed, in part, at shoring up support among black Democrats who may defect to Mr. Steele, the first black elected to statewide office in Maryland.
Mr. Cardin, who is white, appeared to have defeated Kweisi Mfume, past president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in large part with help from party leaders such as House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer and state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.
With 96 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Mr. Cardin had 229,835 votes, or 45 percent, and Mr. Mfume had 206,450 votes, or 40 percent. The Mfume campaign said the candidate would not contest the election results.
As Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People" blasted over the hotel's sound system, Mr. Cardin, 62, took the stage and invoked the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, which critics of President Bush say demonstrated the Republican Party's indifference to poor, black communities.
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