Democratic candidates across Maryland have welcomed the recent news that a surge of registered Democrats have requested absentee ballots ahead of the midterms this November. As of October 11, as reported by the Washington Post, over twenty thousand more Democrats than Republicans have applied to vote absentee, over half of which did not vote in the previous midterm elections in 2014.
These numbers project a potentially high turnout of Democrats on November 6, a nationwide trend that many optimistic Democrats are referring to as the blue wave. This wave of Democratic mobilization could lead to widespread, partisan changes at the local, state, and even national level.
In Maryland, the blue wave has served as a topic of discussion in relation to the gubernatorial race. Former NAACP president and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous and his campaign have had a positive reaction to the new reports on absentee ballot requests.
“The huge surge in Democrats requesting absentee ballots matches the excitement I see on the campaign trail every day,” Jealous said in a statement to the Baltimore Sun.
The surge of Democratic absentee ballot requests come as a hope to Jealous and Democratic candidates across the state, who may face setbacks as the November election rapidly approaches. An October poll conducted by the University of Maryland and the Washington Post found that incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan leads Jealous by 20 percentage points.
Hogan’s campaign has made statements disregarding the importance of the new statistics on absentee ballot requests.
“Absentee ballot requests actually do not matter. What matters is absentee ballot returns,” Hogan campaign manager Jim Barnett said, as reported by the Baltimore Sun. “It doesn’t matter if there is a blue wave of turnout because so many Democrats are choosing Gov. Hogan and his bipartisan approach over Ben Jealous and his extreme and irresponsible ideas.”
As November 6 draws nearer, Maryland residents can expect exciting state elections with a potential blue wave across the state and the country.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Elliot Davey of Wheaton High School.