Doug Duncan - Gubernatorial Race and Aftermath

Gubernatorial Race and Aftermath

Duncan was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge Governor Robert Ehrlich in the 2006 Maryland gubernatorial election. His main rival in the Democratic primary election was Baltimore Mayor Martin J. O'Malley. He announced his campaign with a bus tour through each of Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City.

During the campaign, Duncan trailed both O'Malley and Ehrlich in fundraising. Education became a defining issue in the race; schools in Duncan's home jurisdiction of Montgomery County had a good reputation while a judge had ordered a state takeover of Baltimore's troubled special education programs in 2005. Duncan began airing television ads in May 2006, relatively early in the campaign season, and in the following weeks his poll numbers began to rise. This improvement in the polls was tempered by media reports that Duncan's campaign had accepted contributions from companies associated with Jack Abramoff, a Washington lobbyist who had been accused of corruption.

On June 22, 2006, Duncan dropped out of the race unexpectedly citing a diagnosis of clinical depression. During the brief announcement of his withdrawal, he said that he had at first thought he was simply experiencing physical and mental fatigue associated with campaigning, but that the symptoms had progressed beyond simple fatigue, and sought medical treatment which resulted in the depression diagnosis. He cited a family history of the disease as a factor in the diagnosis, and a number of aides and political associates were quoted in the press saying that Duncan was noticeably unhappy in the period leading up to his withdrawal. During his withdrawal announcement, Duncan endorsed his Democratic primary opponent, Martin O'Malley, in the latter's race against incumbent Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich. At the time of the announcement, polls showed Duncan closing in on O'Malley even as his fundraising was beginning to decline. This weakness in fundraising had led to speculation that Duncan would drop out during the summer, even before the announcement of the depression diagnosis. Reports at the time suggested that his dropping out would have a significant effect on state politics, making it easier for O'Malley to unseat Ehrlich and lowering turnout in the Democratic primary, thereby affecting down ballot races as well.