UREL – Democrat Jim Rosapepe celebrated the end to one of the most bizarre state Senate races across Maryland at the Greene Turtle restaurant last night, beating out the incumbent candidate John Giannetti for the second time in the past three months.
After Rosapepe defeated Giannetti with a landslide majority in the Democratic primaries for District 21, where the university lies, Giannetti took advantage of the open Republican nomination, switching parties for the general election to challenge Rosapepe a second time.
His latest attempt at capturing the Senate seat proved just as futile as his first. Rosapepe easily glided to victory with 70 percent of the vote with 60 percent of precincts reporting as of press time.
Jubilant supporters exchanged high fives and hugs as the newly elected senator walked into a packed room pumping both fists in victory. A flurry of green shirts representing the District 21 team came together last night over beer and hot wings with their eyes glued to TV screens that detailed the results of midterms elections around the state and country.
“We did it again,” Rosapepe proclaimed. “And this time it was a part of a broad, statewide, national win for working families.”
After an exhausting race in which each candidate spent an unprecedented $500,000 in campaign expenditures according to the Maryland Board of Elections, Rosapepe was relieved to stave Giannetti off once again.
“I apologize that we had to do this twice,” he said jokingly.
Yet in a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans two-to-one, Giannetti managed to keep the race interesting through an aggressive speaking tour and intense mudslinging.
But Rosapepe said his campaign ultimately prevailed because of a unified front from all the candidates running in District 21 to bring out the vote.
Staffers also pointed to Rosapepe’s personal commitment. He was at the Stamp Student Union until 9:30 p.m. yesterday, talking to voters who had to wait for as long as two hours because of an unexpected high turnout and an insufficient number of machines.
“Jim is the foundation,” said Rosapepe campaign staffer Carolyn Brenner. “He oversaw every detail and always followed through.”
The abundance of Democratic voters didn’t hurt either, especially in a local election where many voters unfamiliar with the candidate’s beliefs just stuck to their party lines.
“He was a Democrat,” senior history major Mary Stevenson simply stated, explaining her vote. “I had seen signs around campus, but I didn’t really know his platform.”
The closest a Republican has come to taking the District 21 seat in the past 20 years came in 1994 when Herman Bouma garnered 35 percent of the vote.
Many voters were additionally turned off by Giannetti’s party-hopping, a move some saw as little more than the political maneuverings of a sore loser who never accurately represented the district politically.
“Even when Giannetti was a Democrat, he was Republican,” said university alumnus Dennis Cook of West Laurel.
The race had been riddled with political ploys since the primaries when Rosapepe accused Giannetti of tearing down his campaign signs.
The tension only heated up with the YouTube ads Giannetti launched in the campaign’s final week, which criticized Rosapepe’s term as an ambassador to Romania for the Clinton administration. He also implied the former university regent was a liar on his website, where a link allowed visitors to download an image of Rosapepe with a growing nose.
Even on the night of the election, the accusations continued when Giannetti supporters charged Rosapeppe of illegal politicking at university polling places. Rosapeppe denied the charges, saying that he was merely monitoring.
Rosapepe cruised into office, despite the charges, as a self-described environmentalist and champion of education. He ran on a platform that emphasized preserving open spaces across the state and supporting public education by imposing tuition freezes and increasing state funding.
A College Park resident himself, Rosapepe’s presence in Annapolis could bring more focus to issues relevant to city locals and university students, including the redevelopment of Route 1 and rising crime rates.
“You’ve created very high expectations, and I will work very hard to meet those expectations,” Rosapepe said ending his address. “I ask you to keep an eye on me to make sure that I do.”
Contact reporters Ben Slivnick and Arelis Hernandez at slivnickdbk@gmail.com.
