Maryland attorney general primary pits former governor’s wife against ex-understudy

As the race to be the Democratic nominee for Maryland legal professional common enters its remaining stretch, the competition is more and more wanting like a toss-up between two long-standing fixtures of state politics. And there is a Shakespearean-level household twist.

Rep. Anthony Brown was lieutenant governor from 2007-2015 underneath Gov. Martin O’Malley. The pair ran as a ticket in 2006 and labored intently collectively in Annapolis. Brown misplaced the 2014 governor’s race to succeed O’Malley. However Brown rapidly rebounded by successful an open Prince George’s County-based Home seat within the Washington, D.C., suburbs.

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Brown’s foremost Democratic major rival for legal professional common is an assistant state’s legal professional in Baltimore County who went on to function a Baltimore Metropolis district decide, Katie Curran O’Malley, who simply occurs to be the spouse of Brown’s outdated boss, the previous governor. Curran O’Malley was Maryland’s first girl for these eight years after her husband’s 2006 gubernatorial win. She’s additionally the daughter of longtime state Legal professional Common J. Joseph Curran Jr.

Brown and Curran O’Malley will face off within the July 19 Democratic major. They’re vying to succeed Legal professional Common Brian Frosh, who’s retiring from workplace. The Brown-Curran O’Malley race has pressured Democrats, each on the state and nationwide ranges, to select sides. And with the latest polls having discovered the 2 candidates statistically tied, this race is probably going headed for a photograph end.

As a result of there are few notable coverage variations between the 2, the race has centered on different components, equivalent to related expertise and governing philosophy. Curran O’Malley, who trails Brown in endorsements however notably has the help of former Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, just lately hit her rival with an advert questioning his {qualifications} to be legal professional common, declaring that the congressman has “by no means tried a prison case in Maryland.” And Curran O’Malley has argued that within the wake of the Supreme Courtroom’s determination to strike down Roe v. Wade and return the problem of abortion to the states, a lady must be Maryland’s high authorized official.

“I’m uninterested in males saying they need to shield our rights,” she stated at a latest marketing campaign occasion. “We do not have to be protected right here in Maryland. We have to be elected not simply in Maryland however all throughout our nation — extra ladies have to be in locations of energy the place these choices are being made.”

Brown, then again, has leaned closely on his legislative expertise to argue that he’s the candidate greatest fitted to the job. Responding to a debate assault by Curran O’Malley that the legal professional common’s position was primarily targeted on “the rule of regulation” and “not politics,” the congressman asserted that the legal professional common “will spend extra time in Annapolis working with legislators to reform and enhance the regulation than she or he will ever spend in a court docket of regulation.”

He additionally argued that Curran O’Malley’s purported edge in judicial expertise doesn’t carry a lot weight since her time as a decide was spent adjudicating circumstances on the district court docket degree, the place extra minor circumstances are dealt with.

“Legal professional generals don’t present up in district court docket,” Brown contended. “They’re in circuit court docket.” In Maryland, circuit courts hear critical prison circumstances, equivalent to felonies, in addition to higher-level civil circumstances.

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Brown has endorsements from main Democratic figures together with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (MA), Cory Booker (NJ), and Home Majority Chief Steny Hoyer, who represents Maryland’s fifth Congressional District. Whereas his earlier polling lead over Curran O’Malley has apparently since evaporated, he continues to carry a monetary benefit within the race.

Given the shortage of a lot critical Republican competitors and Maryland’s standing as a sometimes Democratic state, the winner of the July 19 major is predicted to win the overall election in November simply.