Early Voting Pours New Energy Into Baltimore Mayor's Race

BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) -- Thursday was the last day of early voting in Maryland, and in the Baltimore mayor's race, voter turnout has poured new energy into the candidates and their campaigns.

Political reporter Pat Warren caught up with the top three candidates in the race for City Hall.

By the time early voting ends, more than 23,000 Baltimore residents will have cast ballots. That's encouraging the candidates, who say it's not over yet.

Some may argue, and rightfully so, that poll numbers two weeks ago mean less and less as voters by the thousands have already cast ballots -- and there's still plenty of time for campaigning.

"You know what my saying is -- we run like we're ten points behind. Even though the polls say we're up, we're still running like we're ten points behind," said mayoral candidate Catherine Pugh.

Pugh isn't the only candidate ignoring the poll.

"Whether it's a tight race, I can't tell you, I don't have a crystal ball. All I know is that we're out there, we're getting a lot of positive energy, a lot of prayers and people are voting," said mayoral candidate Sheila Dixon. "And they're sharing with me who they're voting for, and it feels great."

"We're really surging, and it's so exciting," said mayoral candidate Elizabeth Embry.

The surge in voter interest has galvanized the Embry campaign as well, since she pulled out of the pack in the April poll.

"I'm just talking to people on the streets, in supermarkets, on corners--just talking to voters and making sure everybody in the city knows exactly who I am and what I stand for," said Embry.

The candidates agree--early voting may be ending, but the race to the finish is just beginning.

There are other candidates in the Baltimore mayor's race--most notably--businessman David Warnock and Councilman Carl Stokes, whose supporters are equally determined to get out the vote.

Statewide, about 258,000 people, or 7.5 percent of registered Democrats and Republicans, voted during the eight-day early voting period, according to unofficial results posted on the board's website.

The figures compare with early voter turnouts of about 142,000, or 4.2 percent, in the 2014 primary and about 76,000, or 2.4 percent in 2012, when there were just six days of early voting. Maryland introduced early voting in 2010, when primary early voter turnout was 2.4 percent.

The figures are encouraging, but not necessarily predictive of Tuesday's turnout, said John Willis, a University of Baltimore professor of government and public policy. He said Maryland hasn't offered early voting long enough to establish a reliable gauge.

"We still don't know what the normal pattern is going to be," he said.

In both 2012 and 2014, the combined election-day and early voter turnout was 21 percent.

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