2006 Maryland Attorney General election

2006 Maryland Attorney General election

←  2002 November 7, 2006 (2006-11-07) 2010  →

Nominee Doug Gansler Scott Rolle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,043,458 665,433 Percentage 61.0% 38.9%

County results Gansler:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Rolle:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Attorney General before election J. Joseph Curran Jr. Democratic Elected Attorney General Doug Gansler Democratic

The 2006 Maryland Attorney General election was held on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General of Maryland J. Joseph Curran Jr. declined to seek a sixth term in office, prompted by his son-in-law, Martin O'Malley running for Governor and so wanting to avoid a conflict of interest. ^[1] Montgomery County State's Attorney Doug Gansler won the Democratic primary to succeed Curran and faced off against Scott Rolle, the Frederick County State's Attorney who was unopposed in the Republican primary. Ultimately, Gansler defeated Rolle in a landslide and became the Attorney General of Maryland.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Doug Gansler, Montgomery County State's Attorney
• Stuart O. Simms, former Baltimore City State's Attorney

Campaign

As Gansler and Simms rolled out campaigns for attorney general, they were joined by Montgomery County Councilman Thomas Perez, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, rolled out endorsements from unions, and aired television ads before the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that he did not meet the requirements to appear on the ballot as a candidate. ^[2] Glenn Ivey, the Prince George's County State's Attorney, was rumored to be a possible candidate ^[3] but ultimately declined to run. The Baltimore Sun announced its endorsement of Simms, declaring, "Mr. Gansler lacks Mr. Simms' breadth of experience and moderate temperament that is better suited for this critical role." ^[4] In the end, Gansler was able to comfortably defeat Simms and was able to win every county in the state except for Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

Results

Democratic Primary results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Doug Gansler	286,016	55.68
	Democratic	Stuart O. Simms	227,699	44.32
Total votes			513,715	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Scott Rolle, Frederick County State's Attorney

Results

Republican Primary results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott Rolle	179,054	100.00
Total votes			179,054	100.00

General election

Polling

Source	Date	Gansler (D)	Rolle (R)
Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. [6]	September 27, 2006	54%	26%

Results

Maryland Attorney General election, 2006 ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Doug Gansler	1,043,458	60.99%	−4.18%
	Republican	Scott Rolle	665,433	38.90%	+4.14%
	Write-ins		1,948	0.11%
Majority			378,025	22.10%	−8.31%
Turnout			1,710,839
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

1. ""Curran decides to call it quits." the Baltimore Sun, 8 May 2006".
2. "Court Rejects Perez Bid, Early Voting Law in Md".
3. "Ivey Could Be Lt. Gov. Candidate in Md. (washingtonpost.com)".
4. "Sunday News Roundup". September 3, 2006.
5. . Elections.state.md.us (2006-10-19). Retrieved on 2024-01-30.
6. Baltimore Sun/Potomac Inc. ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. Maryland State Board of Elections. Elections.state.md.us (2006-12-19). Retrieved on 2011-06-18.