Democratic Congressman Ben Cardin leads Lt. Governor Michael Steele (R) by fourteen points in the race to succeed retiring Senator Paul Sarbanes (D). The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Cardin attracting 49% of the vote while Steele earns just 35% (see crosstabs).

Steele is essentially tied when matched against former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume--42% for Steele, 41% for Mfume.

In January, we found Steele holding a slight lead over both Democrats. However, in November, Cardin was ahead of Steele by a 49% to 41% margin. At that time, Steele was neck-and-neck with Mfume. Last July, Cardin led Steele by five points and Steele was seven points ahead of Mfume.

It is unlikely that the opinions of Maryland voters have been as volatile as suggested by the change from a Cardin lead in November to a Steele lead in January and back to an ever larger Cardin lead in the current survey.

The similarity between the current survey, the November survey, and earlier surveys suggests a general stability in the race. In both November and the current survey, Cardin earned 49% of the vote and held a solid lead over Steele. Also, in both surveys, Steele and Mfume were essentially tied.

In the match-up against Cardin, Steele's support in the current survey is down a few points since November. This could be statistical noise or the result of recent problems with the Steele campaign. Several members of the campaign team have quit in recent weeks.

Also, Steele himself recently made controversial comments comparing stem cell research to experiments conducted by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Just 11% of Maryland voters think that is a valid comparison. Seventy-three percent (73%) disagree.

Steele has since apologized for his comments, but the damage may have already been done. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Maryland voters followed news stories about the comments somewhat or very closely. Seventy-six percent (76%) consider stem cell research a somewhat or very important issue.

Most Maryland voters (51%) view Mfume as politically liberal. A plurality (46%) view Steele as conservative.

Perceptions of Cardin are less clear--36% say he's politically moderate, 26% liberal, and 10% say conservative. More than a quarter of all Maryland voters (27%) don't know enough about the Congressman to voice an opinon.

Visit our Election Polls page to see a summary of our latest state-by state polling. Rasmussen Reports is polling every Senate and Governors' race at least once a month this year.

Crosstabs are available for Premium Members.