U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has Gov. Martin O’Malley in her corner in her quest for the White House, but so far Sen. Barack Obama has cultivated an unwavering following in Prince George’s County, the state’s Democratic stronghold.
A network of Obama supporters has been steadily blooming in the county ever since Obama (D-Ill.) announced his candidacy in February. And supporters say the backing of what is considered one of the wealthiest, most educated black jurisdictions in the country could be symbolic and key for the candidate who hopes to be the first African American elected president. Prince George’s, the most heavily Democratic district in the state, has more than 329,000 registered Democrats, and leads Montgomery by about 50,000 voters.
‘‘This is a place for him that he’s gotta win [during the Feb. 12 primary],” said Rushern Baker, the former delegate and candidate for county executive who has gotten heavily involved with the local Obama movement. He has contributed $2,300, which is the federal cap. ‘‘He’s got to just go over big here ... this will be a place where’s he’s going to do extremely well.”
The Obama surge has taken several forms, but appears to be the most formalized support base here of any candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
While a few local officials have already backed the Illinois senator, another group of residents has been meeting monthly since January in an effort to recruit Obama volunteers, raise money, set up high-profile campaign events and plan for polling station staffing during the primary. Plus Bowie resident Orlan Johnson sits on Obama’s national finance committee and has been helping to tap donors in the immediate area.
‘‘He’ll see a real heavy push from the county,” said Johnson, who this week attended a meeting with the rest of the national campaign in Chicago. He and other Prince Georgians helped pull together a high-dollar fundraiser at Union Station in the District for the candidate back in April, which Baker attended. Johnson said the event raised $400,000 for Obama.
And Johnson has regular contact with the group of residents that has been meeting since January. The 85-person network is headed by Cheverly Councilman Micah Watson, Forestville resident Walakewon Blegay and College Park resident Hellmut Lotz.
About 30 of them rallied last month outside the Starbucks at the Largo Boulevard at the Capital Centre. Decked out in Obama shirts, they smiled for a group photo before heading into the nearby neighborhoods to door knock. They all yelled ‘‘Obama!” – instead of cheese – before the photographer snapped the shot.
About 10 members of the group held another meeting at the Largo Borders last Wednesday, where they talked about making a push to bring a major campaign stop to Prince George’s County in the fall, headlined by Obama himself.
Watson said the rally and fundraiser could be similar to the high-energy campaign stop Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean made at the University of Maryland in College Park in 2003, which nearly 4,000 people reportedly attended.
‘‘We think that we can turn out 2 or 3,000 people,” Lotz said.
The group is also trying to organize a potluck dinner and fundraiser for Obama sometime in August or September.
Obama fielded the endorsement of District Mayor Adrian Fenty on Tuesday. And Jason Waskey, a volunteer Maryland organizer for Obama, said the campaign is seeing a lot of support in Prince George’s, Montgomery and Baltimore city.
‘‘We’ve seen a really diverse level of support [in Prince George’s],” he said. ‘‘We’ve had elected officials getting involved, we’ve had activists ... but we’ve also had people who’ve never been involved in politics before.”
Bowie resident Roxanne Taylor said the potential to make history is one of many reasons Prince George’s residents have been pushing for Obama since he announced. The candidate who openly criticizes the ‘‘quiet riot” in black neighborhoods across America, and who has attracted more individual donors than any of his opponents, has resonated with voters here.
‘‘I think he brings a whole new perspective to governing ... He really is the first black candidate that is seriously considered for the presidency,” Taylor said, adding that his opposition to the Iraq war is also important in Prince George’s.
‘‘We’re in his corner,” said Forestville resident Paige Adams, a Suitland High School government teacher who just drew up an Obama flier for the volunteer group to start circulating.
Meanwhile, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Dist. 7) have taken a lead role in coordinating the campaign in Maryland.
Despite the local support, Obama is still behind in the national polls. A Gallup survey taken last week showed Obama trailing Clinton (D-N.Y.) for the nomination by nine points. Clinton pulled 34 percent, while Obama pulled 25 percent.
Maryland officials hope that the recent decision by the General Assembly to move the primary up from March 4 to Feb. 12 will give the Maryland vote more weight on the national scene than it’s had in previous years.
As for the Republican candidates, Prince George’s GOP Central Committee Chairman Mykel Harris said the support network in the county is still percolating. But he said local Republicans will probably start organizing once the field narrows.
‘‘It’s all over the board, you’ve got the [former New York City Mayor Rudy] Giuliani camp, the [former Massachusetts Gov.] Mitt Romney camp,” he said.
Orlan Johnson and Baker, who are also pushing for Obama to headline a campaign stop in Prince George’s, said they expect a host of Prince George’s officials to endorse Obama, even though few have made their support public.
State Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Dist. 24) of Capitol Heights, who said he’s known Obama since he entered the Illinois state legislature 10 years ago, is one local official already backing the candidate. Exum attended the rally outside the Starbucks in June, as did Baker, Del. Justin Ross (D-Dist. 22) of Greenbelt and Democratic Central Committee member Alexander Rodriguez.
‘‘I think he’s the one that’s gonna stick it out and win this county, though there are some Hillary supporters,” Exum said.
State Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21) of College Park, a Clinton supporter, said the New York senator’s base will rival Obama’s in Prince George’s, particularly among women.
‘‘I think most people in Prince George’s County ... can’t wait for President Bush’s term to be over, and I think they’re excited about the direction Sen. Clinton wants to take the country,” said Rosapepe, who served as ambassador to Romania under President Bill Clinton.
Clinton attracted a following last year when she stopped by the University of Maryland in College Park before the General Election to stump for O’Malley and U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.). The event was attended by several local officials.
But Obama showed two days later on campus to campaign for Cardin, and commanded just as much enthusiasm, if not more, from the local political contingent.
County Executive Jack B. Johnson also testified alongside Obama at a Senate hearing in June in support of a bill cracking down on voter deception and intimidation.
Orlan Johnson said the pressure to endorse Obama will come from the bottom-up, rather than from the top-down, and that constituent support for the Illinois senator will precipitate the endorsements of officials. He said he expects to rack up at least $250,000 from Prince George’s donors, though there’s no specific fundraising goal for the county.
‘‘I think you’re going to see a number of the elected officials from Prince George’s that are going to end up endorsing,” he said. ‘‘We’re just gonna keep working this thing.”
E-mail Judson Berger at jberger@gazette.net.
Who’s supporting who?
It’s too early for many local politicians to start endorsing candidates for the 2008 presidential primary, but a few Democrats have come forward with their picks. Here’s a sampling:
Hillary Clinton
Gov. Martin O’Malley
Del. Ben Barnes (D-Dist. 21)
Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21)
Barack Obama
Attorney General Doug Gansler
Del. Justin Ross (D-Dist. 22)
Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Dist. 24)
Former delegate Rushern Baker
John Edwards
Maybe: U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Dist. 4)
(Wynn endorsed Edwards in 2004, but is reserving judgment this time around)
