Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, said Monday that a lot of Democrats were “falling asleep at the switch” in his state this year, taking the governor’s race for granted in the overwhelmingly Democratic state.
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown is trying to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley in his race against Republican Larry Hogan, who is running competitively and looking to give the GOP a surprise win in the deep-blue state.
“I think it’s the fact that Maryland has not traditionally been in play. So a lot of Democrats were falling asleep at the switch,” Mr. Van Hollen said Monday on MSNBC. “Look, the only people that can beat Democrats in Maryland, Democratic candidates, are Democrats who stay home.”
Mr. Van Hollen said that as more and more Democrats recognize the race is actually close, they’re getting more excited about the contest.
President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently swooped into the state to boost Mr. Brown, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie mocked Mr. O’Malley Sunday as he predicted a win for Mr. Hogan.
Mr. Van Hollen said the state of the race is not a reflection of the president or his policies.
“In fact, the president is very popular in the state of Maryland,” he said. “And the president’s policies of raising the minimum wage, equal pay for equal work — these are all very popular things in the state of Maryland.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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