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With the Maryland primary quickly approaching and Democratic leaders casting about for ways to engage voters in the months leading up to the November election, the Maryland Democratic Party and former vice president Joe Biden鈥檚 White House campaign have a series of events scheduled for this week that are designed to be building blocks for the general election push.
The main event is a 鈥淒ems@Distance鈥� rally next Sunday at 3 p.m., sponsored by the Maryland Democratic Party. A cavalcade of Democratic stars are providing videos for the virtual rally, including U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), the state鈥檚 two U.S. senators, Benjamin L. Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Democratic National Committee Chairman (and Marylander) Tom Perez, and a half dozen former presidential contenders: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, California Sen. Kamala Harris, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang.
鈥淭his is big time,鈥� said Yvette Lewis, chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party.
As of Friday, 540 people had signed up to attend the rally, and other state parties, she said, are looking to replicate the Maryland event 鈥� or borrow the video messages.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the Maryland presidential primary was supposed to have been held on April 28 鈥� the same day as Pennsylvania鈥檚 and Delaware鈥檚. That had party leaders in all three states planning a 鈥淒ems Drive 95鈥� campaign 鈥� a reference to Interstate 95 鈥� to gin up interest in all three states.
Now, eight states and the District of Columbia are holding primaries and June 2, and Democratic leaders in all those states are urging voters to the polls, even if the nomination of Biden is a foregone conclusion.
鈥淭here鈥檚 so many states on the same day, so in Maryland we could really be part of that number that puts Joe Biden over the top,鈥� Lewis said.
In presidential election years, Maryland Democrats send volunteers to surrounding states that are more competitive in the general election 鈥� a move that can occasionally be controversial, because some party activists fret that doing so depletes the state party and its core supporters from staying focused on activities at home. Lewis concedes that once again, 鈥淢aryland is going to be an export state in 2020,鈥� dispatching one set of party activists to Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia while others will be part of a 鈥淪WAT team鈥� to deploy wherever the Biden campaign needs them.
But Lewis said she has extracted promises from her counterparts in the surrounding states that they鈥檒l send volunteers to Maryland in 2022, a nonpresidential year. While Democrats have carried every presidential election in Maryland since 1992, they鈥檝e lost three of the last five gubernatorial elections, which is clearly where they need the most help.
鈥淥ur goal is to make a change so we can get ourselves out of the situation we somehow find ourselves in,鈥� Lewis said.
Meanwhile, the group Maryland Women for Biden, an offshoot of the national Women for Biden organization, which is affiliated with the national campaign, is conducting what it鈥檚 calling 鈥渁 week of action鈥� 鈥� 15 online house parties.
Barbara Goldberg-Goldman, a party stalwart who is one of the organizers of the Maryland effort, said the parties this week include an event Tuesday evening sponsored by Frederick Del. Karen Lewis Young, a party featuring Maryland Congressman Jamie B. Raskin on Wednesday evening, an Eastern Shore event co-hosted by House Speaker Pro Tem Sheree Sample-Hughes, a Thursday evening party headlined by Congressman John Sarbanes, a Saturday morning event hosted by Prince George鈥檚 Del. Nicole Williamson and featuring Prince George鈥檚 State鈥檚 Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy, and a Saturday evening event featuring Van Hollen.
This is the second go-round as party leader for Lewis, who took over last December and also served from 2011 to 2015. She said that during her first term, with President Obama in the White House and Martin O鈥橫alley as governor, Democrats had become complacent.
鈥淚 think I鈥檝e enjoyed it more this time,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an energy out there that simply wasn鈥檛 there before.鈥�
