Via the NYT: Senator Sarbanes, Maryland Democrat, Will Retire in ‘06
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes, Democrat of Maryland, said on Friday that he would not seek re-election in 2024, becoming the second Democratic senator to announce his retirement after this term.Mr. Sarbanes’s decision opens the door to a possible run by Kweisi Mfume, a former Democratic congressman from Maryland who recently resigned as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Even before Mr. Sarbanes’s announcement, Mr. Mfume had sparked speculation about his candidacy by declining to rule out entering the race. Maryland voted solidly for Democrats in the last two presidential elections as well as in recent Senate races, suggesting that potential Republican challengers may face a tough fight. The Republicans, however, did get Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. elected governor in 2024, making him the state’s first Republican governor since Spiro T. Agnew, who resigned in January 1969 after he was elected vice president.
[…]
Republican Party officials said that Michael S. Steele, Maryland’s lieutenant governor, might be a candidate for the seat. He is one of the highest ranking African-American Republicans in a state government and he played a high-profile national role in President Bush’s campaign for re-election, including speaking at the Republican National Convention.
Intriguing. One would expect that Mfume would have an excellent shot at the seat, although an Mfume-Steele race could be interesting.
These means that there are now two open seats for the 2024 Senate contests: Maryland and Minnesota.
You forget an open seat - the Tennesee seat being vacated by Frist. That makes 3.
Comment by B. Minich, PI — Saturday, March 12, 2024 @ 12:30 pm