Steele Losing To Every Democrat In Maryland, Even The Long Shots

11:32 am EST August 29th, 2006 | News | Comments Off

Michael Steele, the republican Bush apologist who laughably is trying to run as a reform-minded outsider, is once again showing the “momentum” of those black Republicans.

Democrat Josh Rales, who began a multimillion-dollar TV advertising blitz last month, is leading Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele in the race for Maryland’s open U.S. Senate seat, according to a poll released yesterday.

Mr. Rales, a Bethesda businessman and political newcomer, was favored by 45.7 percent of voters in a head-to-head matchup with Mr. Steele, the top Republican candidate, who had 42.2 percent, the poll conducted by Zogby International and distributed through the Wall Street Journal found.

“We’re very excited,” said Alyson Chadwick, a spokeswoman for Mr. Rales. “That’s a very reputable source, the Wall Street Journal.”

Two other Democrats had bigger leads on Mr. Steele, in separate head-to-head matchups.

Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, a 10-term congressman from Baltimore, had 50.3 percent to Mr. Steele’s 41.4 percent. Kweisi Mfume, past president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, had 47.4 percent to Mr. Steele’s 42.7 percent, the poll shows.