By Liz Boch
Capital News Service
Friday, Sept. 6, 2002

WASHINGTON - Second District Democrats Oz Bengur and C.A. Dutch
Ruppersberger expect to spend a total of $500,000 for TV ads this week, just
part of a last-minute primary push that will include T-shirts, bumper stickers
and hand-shaking.

With Tuesday's 2nd District primary election looming, Ruppersberger's ads are focusing on his commitment to education and prescription drugs for senior citizens, said campaign spokeswoman Shannon White, who said the will run on Fox, WBAL, WMAR and WJZ.

She said Ruppersberger, the two-term Baltimore County executive, will continue campaigning throughout election day, heading to district polls and shaking hands.

"It makes a big difference," she said. "He likes seeing people at the polls. It could give him a couple points."

Bengur is also scheduled to have ads on all the major networks as well as BET, TNT and Lifetime, said press secretary David Brown. The campaign also will
target African-American voters in a radio blitz over the weekend.

"We're trying to present our candidate as an alternative to the bigwigs in the establishment," Brown said. "We thought the Democratic Party was premature
in anointing a candidate."

Brown said Bengur's final efforts also include phone calling and door-to-door campaigning. Campaign workers will drive through the district in four trucks with loudspeakers promoting Bengur.

"We think our chances are tremendous," Brown said. "It's all about election day. We're cautiously optimistic and focused on winning the primary."

WBAL Radio political analyst Frank DeFilippo said the two Democrats are executing typical maneuvers for the last days of a primary election.

"The primary vote is one of organization. You organize your vote and get it out," he said. "In a general election, it's issues and personalities."

The winner will likely face Republican candidate Helen Delich Bentley, who has no big-name opponent in the GOP primary and is biding her time.

Michael Kosmas, the managing director of Bentley's campaign, said she is out waving signs and attending public events, but is otherwise conserving her promotional arsenal for a general election assault.

"We've been very visible. We've been out seven days a week," Kosmas said.
"We've got the two Democratic candidates slinging mud at each other. Not being a part of that on television makes us look better."

Bentley, who held the 2nd District seat from 1984 to 1994, trailed Ruppersberger by two points in a July poll by Gonzales/Arscott Research &
Communications Inc.

Congressional leaders have guaranteed Bentley her former seat on the House Appropriations Committee, along with the seniority from her prior terms, if she
wins in November. She could leverage that seniority into votes by promising
increased federal funding to Baltimore County, DeFilippo said.

He said he believes Ruppersberger will win the Democratic primary, but the
general election is up for grabs.

DeFilippo said Ruppersberger's biggest hurdle is "lingering resentment" over a law he backed in 2000 that would have let the county condemn property in
the Dundalk area and redevelop it into a waterfront community. The bill was
petitioned to referendum in Baltimore County and defeated.

The 2nd District is drawing national attention as Democrats battle to pick up the handful of seats they need to regain control of Congress. Incumbent Rep.Robert Ehrlich, R-Timonium, is leaving the seat to run for governor. In the meantime, the district was redrawn this year to be much more heavily Democratic.

Registered Democrats now account for two-thirds of the district, which has been
called one of the 12 most-watched congressional races in the nation.

Kosmas said Bentley will make a campaign issue of the redistricting, which he called a "desperate attempt by the party in power." But she's looking forward
to the general election and expects a good fight, regardless of which Democrat
she faces.

"Both parties will makes this a battlefield," Kosmas said.

Copyright © 2002 University of Maryland College of Journalism