Duncan campaign gains steam

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan’s gubernatorial campaign has gained significant momentum in the past month that he needs to sustain through the September primary.

“The earth’s shaking,” Stuart O. Simms, Mr. Duncan’s running mate, said Friday at an event in Laurel where seven local unions endorsed the Duncan ticket.

Mr. Duncan called the endorsements “a reflection behind the momentum of our campaign.”

His opponents say his momentum is temporary.

“I really think he’s a sinking ship right now,” said District Heights Mayor James L. Walls Jr., who is also president of the Maryland Black Caucus.

Mr. Walls supported Mr. Duncan last summer but shifted his allegiance in late August to Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, the Democratic front-runner.

Mr. Duncan has lagged Mr. O’Malley in polls and fundraising from the beginning.

In mid-April, a poll from Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies showed Mr. Duncan nine percentage points behind Mr. O’Malley. The poll showed that 44 percent of voters supported Mr. O’Malley and 35 percent backed Mr. Duncan.

Duncan campaign staffers hailed the poll because it showed they had cut Mr. O’Malley’s lead in half, from about 20 points to single digits.

A few days later, Progressive Maryland, one of the state’s most active and liberal grass-roots lobbying and political-action groups, endorsed Mr. Duncan.

Part of the reason for the endorsement was that Mr. O’Malley would not complete a questionnaire as requested by Progressive Maryland.

Earlier this month, Mr. Duncan aired his first TV ad in the Baltimore market. The 30-second spot uses life-size cutouts representing Mr. O’Malley and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to criticize them both. Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, is running for re-election.

The campaign prolonged press coverage of Mr. Duncan’s choice for a running mate by leaking Mr. Simms’ name early this month and waiting a week to make the formal announcement.

Mr. Simms, a former state corrections chief and former Baltimore City state’s attorney with strong roots in Mr. O’Malley’s home turf, drew large and enthusiastic crowds in Baltimore and Prince George’s County when he announced his candidacy.

Mr. O’Malley has largely ignored Mr. Duncan’s attacks on Baltimore’s problems with crime and public schools, and has campaigned as if he were running only against Mr. Ehrlich.

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