Maryland: 2008 Presidential Election

When Del. Saqib Ali (D-Gaithersburg) ran for a position in the state General Assembly in 2006 he faced challenges that most politicians do not face.

"Some people said to me ‘you have a funny name' and ‘you are a Muslim,'" Ali told PolitickerMD.com.  "They said just go home. Don't run."

Ali, who is of Pakistani and Indian descent, even had to deal with a protester who sat outside his home one-day in the summer of 2006 carrying a sign and shouting derogatory comments about Ali's religion.

ANNAPOLIS-- Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Towson) told PolitickerMD.com today that "it's possible" he could endorse a presidential candidate by Wednesday, one-day after the final nominating contests in South Dakota and Montana.

Appearing at the District 30 Democratic Club Cookout and Fundraiser in Annapolis, Sarbanes would not say which candidate he would endorse. The representative from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District has long pledged to remain uncommitted until the process is finalized on Tuesday.

As a member of the Democratic National Committee, Westminster Councilman Gregory Pecoraro is a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention in August. He is one of the state's nine uncommitted superdelegates, which means he's been busy fielding phone calls and meeting with the candidates and their surrogates.

Despite all the pressure to support either Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), Pecoraro told PolitickerMD.com that he is taking the process in a "day by day" manner.

In the aftermath of Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) convincing victory over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the North Carolina primary and narrow defeat in Indiana, Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Michael Cryor told PolitickerMD.com that the Democratic contest is "for all intensive purposes, over."

"It makes it a lot easier for the American people to appreciate the inevitability of where this contest is headed," Cryor, an Obama superdelegate, said of the results.