JHU alum Steele wins in Md.

Former United States congressman Bob Ehrlich defeated Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to become the first Republican elected to the state's governor's chair in 36 years. This victory also means that Maryland will have its first African-American Lieutenant Governor in Hopkins alumnus Michael Steele.

The close of voting stations across Maryland marked the end of a statewide contest that received national attention, as Townsend's significant lead in the polls dwindled and eventually vanished as the campaign drew closer to Election Day.

For a match dramatized by the closeness in popularity, as well as the extreme competitiveness and frequent animosity displayed by both candidates, election night did not disappoint as incoming results from Maryland's 46 voting districts depicted an up and down contest, with both candidates trading the lead.

In the end, Ehrlich's strength in the state's suburban and rural areas trumped Townsend's hold on Balti more City and the Washington suburbs as the GOP candidate took 51 percent of the vote to his Democratic opponent's 48 percent. Libertarian candidate Spear Lancaster received a negligible one percent of the votes cast.

Baltimore is unique from the rest of the state in how it voted: In the overwhelmingly Democratic city, Townsend received 76 percent of the vote to Ehrlich's 24 percent.

The most notable aspect of this close election was the rise in voter participation that it precipitated. Evidently, the prospect of a Republican governor after over three decades of Democratic leadership was cause enough to urge voters of either party affiliation across the state to make their way to the polls.

The result was a general election marking a dramatic increase in statewide voter turnout over one held four years ago. According to the Maryland Board of Elections, in 1998, 28.6 percent of Marylanders voted. This year, that figure doubled as 59.2 percent of eligible voters turned out.

Baltimore City, in which the Johns Hopkins campus is located, also showed a leap in voter participation from the last general and primary elections. In 1998, a dismal 29.9 percent showed up at the polls while this year's contest urged 53.4 percent of the city's eligible voters to turn out.

Several student groups at Johns Hopkins work to increase voter turnout for this election year. Campus groups like the Johns Hopkins College Republicans and the College Democrats were active in bringing this year's gubernatorial races to campus in an effort to educate the student body on the candidates and the issues and to encourage students to vote on them.

Both organizations were responsible for bringing the gubernatorial candidate's running mates to campus to speak. Steele spoke to a small group of students on October 24 in the Clipper Room of Shriver Hall while the next day, his opponent, Admiral Charles Larson, addressed a crowd in Mudd Auditorium.

Both the College Republicans and the College Democrats initiated a voter registration drive in the weeks preceding the election. According to Executive Director Daniel Herr, the JHU College Republicans registered a total of 54 republicans for this week's election. The College Democrats also claimed a number of registrants in the fifties. President David Klein was happy with his group's efforts.

"I was pleased with the turnout," he said. "When you think about it, we registered in one day a little more than one percent of the entire undergraduate population"

Maryland voters selected a number of other candidates to statewide office. Democratic Incumbent J. Joseph Curran was elected to a fourth term as State Attorney General, defeating GOP candidate Edwin McVaugh with 65 percent of votes cast.

Former Baltimore City mayor and Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer cruised comfortably to a second term as State Comptroller, commanding 68 of the vote to his opponent Gene Zarwell's 32 percent.

On the national stage, Maryland voters elected two Republicans and six Democrats to the House of Representatives, including Democratic incumbent for the Seventh District, Hopkins's Representative in Congress Elijah Cummings.

While Maryland voters strongly favored Democrats over Republicans to represent them in Congress, the Republican victory in the gubernatorial race is a more accurate reflection of the election turnout across the country. In an historic moment, the Republican Party has gained control of the Senate from the Democrats, who, going into the election held a slim majority.

The death of Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone in a plane crash two weeks ago turned that majority into a tie as Independent Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura appointed another independent, Dean Barkley, to fill Wellstone's post in the interim. As of press time, the Republicans now hold 51 seats in the Senate to the Democrat's 46. One seat is held by Independent Jim Jeffords. Two races, Louisiana and South Dakota, remain undecided.

In the House of Representatives the Republicans now enjoy a 23 seat majority over the Democrats. Before the election, the Republicans controlled the House with 223 seats to the Democrats' 210. By press time, five races are yet undecided.

Much of the GOP's victory in this year's midterm elections has been attributed to the fund-raising abilities of Republican President George W. Bush, who has spent much of the past few months campaigning on behalf of candidates across the United States in the hopes of forming a greater consensus in Congress for Republican initiatives.

In New Jersey, former Senator Frank Lautenberg, who replaced current Senator Robert Torricelli on the ballot, defeated his Republican opponent Doug Forrester. Torricelli dropped out of the race in October amid accusations of ethics violations. New Jersey voters also elected seven Democrats and six Republicans to the House of Representatives.

In New York, Republican incumbent George Pataki won his third term, gaining 49 percent of the vote and fending off challenges from the Democratic hopeful and state comptroller H. Carl McCall and Independent candidate and businessman Thomas Golisano. New York voters chose 18 Democrats and 10 Republicans to fill seats in the House of Representatives. By press time, the results of one race are yet to be determined.