by
NARR: At a rally for Maryland democrats last the Sunday night, Senate candidate Ben Cardin introduced the evening's special guest.
AX: (Track 17 10:17 Ben Cardin) We are so honored to have with us tonight and it's my honor to present President William Jefferson Clinton! (Applause)
NARR: Clinton campaigned with Cardin in Prince Georges County, the birthplace of Cardin's Republican opponent Michael Steele.
AX: (Bill Clinton) There couldn't be a clearer choice. It's the real deal against the vote grab.
NARR: This was Clinton's second trip to Maryland during the campaign and it came at a crucial time for Cardin. Cardin had long been considered the race favorite- but his lead has recently shrunk. Last week a Washington Post poll had Cardin up by eleven percentage points. This week, polling website Real Clear Politics shows Cardin is only up by three point seven.
NARR: Chris Kavey is a Republican activist in the state's conservative Baltimore county. He believes the Maryland GOP finally has a candidate on the ballot who can convince voters to cross party lines.
AX: It's not just blind partisan politics only. People are really out there thinking. We've had tons of registered democrats in this headquarters calling for Michael Steele.
NARR: Steele is different than many of his Republican predecessors. An African American, Steele was elected Maryland's Lieutenant Governor in 2002. Blacks represent about thirty percent of Maryland's eligible voters. And some, including prominent politicians, have crossed party lines to support him. But Pastor Tony Lee, who attended Cardin's rally, says race isn't everything.
AX: Just because you look like me does not mean you are meeting my needs, or have my needs at heart. And my big concern is for any candidate you need to look at their track record and who they are aligned with and anybody who's that closely aligned with Bush just on issues. Michael Steele does not line up on issues the way that our community needs him to.
NARR: Matthew Crenson is a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University. He says race is not the key factor in Steele's recent increase in popularity. Instead he attributes it to Steele's strong campaign.
AX: (Matt Crenson about Steele) He's very personable, affable and in a technical sense he has the best political ads I've seen in a political campaign.
NARR: Crenson says Cardin is not as savvy. He's more experienced than Steele but is having difficulty selling that experience to voters.
AX: (Matt Crenson) Cardin has one difficulty in that he doesn't come across with the same electricity as Steele. He's a very studious politician. He knows a lot about issues and policies that would bore other people to tears, like pensions for example. And those are not the kinds of things that bring voters to rise to their feet on election day.
NARR: Because it's so close Crenson doesn't think the race will be decided tonight. He says it will come down to Absentee ballots, which this year represent more than 175,000 of the state's nearly 3 million registered voters. Andrew Scherr, Columbia Radio News.