Ben Jealous expected to announce gov run for Maryland this week

[PragmaticPopulist]

Personally, I don't think Jealous would be a strong candidate, considering Maryland typically prefers experience, but who knows. Before Hogan was governor, he was just Secretary of Appointments in Ehrlich's administration.

And Hogan is by no means safe. Ehrlich had a positive approval rating when he was defeated by O'Malley in 2006. And Trump is even more toxic in Maryland then Bush was then. Leans R, giving Hogan the benefit of the doubt.

[PragmaticPopulist]

Still Lean R.

Jealous could do well, but outside of the Baltimore area, is he going to overperform O'Malley and Brown? Is he going to be popular in the suburban Maryland areas, especially where there is some white areas? He'll do well in white liberal areas but what about swing areas?

This is why I don't think he's the best candidate out there. I even have doubts he'll have much traction in the white liberal areas in the Baltimore and Washington suburbs. Besides, I'd prefer a Democrat that doesn't just rely on central Maryland to win. The last few years have been devastating to the state party on the eastern shore and western Maryland, and I doubt a guy who's main background is being NAACP president is very appealing to rural whites, let alone white professional suburbanites.

[PragmaticPopulist]

Jealous says Maryland should start single-payer health program

Bad. This should be a non-starter, even for Democrats, considering how large the healthcare sector is in Maryland and how disruptive such a proposal would be.

Maryland has had an all-payer system for a long time now

Sure, but the state already made adjustments to their model a few years ago to limit hospital costs. Another major change within the next decade to the healthcare system in the state could prove to be quite the destabilizing force for those in the health industry, not to mention the political backlash that would emerge from the kind of tax that would need to be levied to pay for single-payer.

Again, another reason why I don't see Jealous getting the nomination, or being a strong general election candidate. Maryland traditionally supports establishment Democrats, and when an outsider get the nomination, it votes Republican (see Maryland's 1966 Gubernatorial election).

I can see a candidate supporting a soft version of single-payer, but the health industry being a dominant employer, it'll take a few years for the state to full-out accept it.