Much ado about nothing...

The Ho Co Times tries points out a couple of issues I have already addressed here.

Take a look for yourself. Dems deny party feuds, but some disagreements emerge

and its sister article

County GOP sees chance for wins, despite numbers

The best quote in the "Party Feuds" article is this gem:

"It sounds like a modern-day political Peyton Place where you need score cards to keep track of debt tolls and allegiances," said Keith Haller, CEO of Potomac Incorporated, a non-partisan political polling firm in Bethesda.

I wouldn't characterize the Democrats that way at all. They hold the majority of elected seats in all but one body - The State Senate - and have for a while. Even the "non-partisan" Board of Education is made up of all registered Democrats save Diane Mikulas the lone registered Republican.

However, as the "GOP sees chance..." article points out and no one should over look this fact.

As of Jan. 12, Howard County had 60,885 registered Republicans and 80,753 registered Democrats, according to local election officials. The county also has 33,914 voters who are not affiliated with either party. Republican wins will "very much depend on voter turnout," said Gimpel, adding that independent voters tend to support Republican candidates in the county.

Look at County Council District One. I am not calling this out because of Merdon, but because it is a swing district in a swing county. Merdon would not have won District One twice with large margins if it wasn't for three factors (among others):

1. GOP turn out
2. Cross voters from the Democratic Party
3. Independents

Although it is interesting to ponder the personalities and circumstances in Council District 2 and House District 13, and the possible implications for the election it all remains to be seen.