Maryland Sixth District Rep. Roscoe Bartlett does plan to seek an 11th term after all, WMAL says on its website. Many Republicans thought Bartlett would retire, since “he had raised almost no money, and had not shared his plans with supporters.” But Bartlett, “who at 85 years old is the second-oldest member of the House of Representatives, said Monday that he still has work he wants to see through in Congress.” It remains to be seen whether state Sen. David Brinkley, ex-state Sen. Alex Mooney, and longtime Bartlett chief-of-staff Bud Otis will continue to pursue the GOP nomination against an incumbent.
* Blue Virginia links to a new Democratic Party of Virginia web video hitting George Allen over big spending Allen voted for during his time on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, W. James Antle III, writing at the American Conservative, says Jamie Radtke’s primary campaign against Allen, “based largely on the former senator and governor’s complicity” in increased spending and the growth of government, “appears stalled.”
* Red Maryland’s Mark Newgent says Democratic criticism of Paul Schurick over the Election Day robocall case doesn’t pass the laugh test: “What happened was, a Democrat, Paul Schurick, approved a dopey scheme conceived by another Democrat, with a history of performing dirty tricks for other Democrats, Julius Henson. Yes, the scheme was hatched on behalf of Bob Ehrlich’s campaign, but no Republicans were actually involved.”
* The Virginia Public Access Project says spending on Virginia state Senate campaigns was up five percent in 2011 compared to the 2009 cycle, with $38,626,365 spent in all. But spending on state House races plummeted 39%, down about $15 million to $23,437,402. While the Senate was hard-fought as Republicans sought to take control, continued GOP control of the House was not in doubt.
* The Annapolis Capital says in an editorial that Anne Arundel County Councilmember Daryl Jones, who is about to begin five months in prison on a tax charge, should resign. The paper writes, “Unfortunately -- and incredibly -- the County Charter doesn’t have any provision explicitly allowing the rest of the council to vote to remove Jones.”
