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Gansler won’t be pressured by opponents, strategist says
//May 31, 2013
Despite calls from some political observers for Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler to formally announce his candidacy for governor, Gansler’s campaign strategist said there is no rush.
“We have a very clear, very well thought out plan that we’re executing. It isn’t going to be dictated by decisions our opponents make,” Doug Thornell said. “I’m not really familiar with any campaigns that have been won in the June in the off year. … There is more than a year until the primary.”
Pressure intensified when news broke that Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown would name Howard County Executive Ken Ulman his running mate Monday morning in Columbia.
Gansler has said he won’t make a formal announcement of his intentions until the fall, but some say he would give Brown an insurmountable edge by waiting that long.
Thornell, however, brushed aside that criticism.
“I think he’s been clear he’s been planning to run for governor,” Thornell said. “It’ll begin at a time and place of our choosing.”
He also dished out his own criticism, calling into question why Brown planned to be so quick to announce Ulman as his running mate.
“For a campaign desperate to demonstrate that their candidate can stand on their own record, rushing out to name a running mate this early seems odd,” Thornell said.
Other potential Democratic contenders for governor include Del. Heather R. Mizeur, D-Montgomery, and U.S. Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger. Neither has officially announced their candidacy.
Harford County Executive David R. Craig is poised to become the first Republican to officially announce his candidacy Monday morning. Del. Ronald A. George, an Anne Arundel County Republican, plans to announce his candidacy Wednesday afternoon.
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