Steele Gets More Last Minute Endorsements

In more proof of Lt. Governor Michael Steele's surge in the Maryland Senate race, yesterday, another crop of black clergy endorsed Steele. The latest group of pastors represent some 200,000 church members.

As the National Review Online noted, going after socially conservative black voters has been a key factor in his strategy, a strategy that is paying off.

These community leaders will provide crucial support to Steele's ground game in Prince George's County, where he must win at least 25 percent of the African-American vote in order to pull off the upset.

People who underestimate Michael Steele's appeal among black socially conservative voters are underestimating his chances to win this race. It's by no means a sure bet, but here on the ground in PG County, it's easy to imagine this passionate constituency can carry Steele to victory.

Steele's appeal is personal as well as pragmatic. For decades in Maryland, black voters have been left behind by the Democratic party and for Prince George's County, Steele's home, a growing black middle and upper classes are starting to realize that they have far more in common, fiscally and morally, with the GOP than with the Democrats. Steele's appeal comes from a number of areas.

Also, Steele, who spent three years training for the priesthood before opting for a career in politics, promises to represent social conservatives better than any Democrat. As the Democrats have become increasingly adamant in their defense of gay marriage and abortion, they have exposed themselves to the risk of alienating groups like MOOVVEITUP, a faith-based organization that is adding significant strength to Steele’s ground game.

It helps that Steele is an energetic and adept campaigner. As a black Republican in Democratic Maryland, he has learned how to appeal to supporters of big-government programs without sounding like he necessarily favors big government. He opposes racial quotas, but supports affirmative action as a means of economic empowerment. He’s against allowing the government to bargain down the prices of prescription drugs, but argues that Medicare doesn’t adequately cover the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. On education he holds a variety of complex views, including support for charter schools and vouchers at the local level. But he also will tell you that the problem with No Child Left Behind is its underfunded mandates.

Polls in Maryland close at 7:00pm EST and results will start flowing shortly after. However, Maryland has given out a record number of absentee ballots and we may not know who won for days, perhaps even a week.