Turkish Daily News
September 14, 2006 Thursday

TURK-AMERICAN CANDIDATE LOSES PRIMARY FOR HOUSE SEAT

Osman "Oz" Bengur, the only Turkish-American seeking to win a seat in
the House of Representatives in November’s congressional elections,
lost the Democratic Party’s primary in Maryland’s third district on
Tuesday

After counting was complete in more than 63 percent of the precincts,
Bengur was able to garner only about 4 percent of the vote, coming
sixth in a tight race involving eight candidates. He was competing in
Maryland’s largest district, including the capital Annapolis and
Baltimore, the state’s largest and most important city and a key
commercial port

John Sarbanes, a Greek-American and son of Maryland’s senior
Democratic Senator Paul Sarbanes, was leading the Democratic primary
with nearly 31 percent of the vote as counting was continuing on
early Wednesday

Peter Beilenson, a former health commissioner in Baltimore, was a
strong runner-up with 25 percent after more than 63 percent of the
votes were counted

The elder Sarbanes, who has been championing Greek, Greek Cypriot and
Armenian causes against Turkey in Congress for decades, has already
announced that he will not seek re-election in November.

This was Bengur’s second loss in four years in his pursuit to become
the first Turkish-American to enter Congress. This time his
performance was worse than in 2002, when he narrowly lost the
Democratic primary in the same district

Like in 2002, the area’s small Turkish-American community supported
Bengur, but his efforts to draw a larger backing apparently failed.

Bengur, 57, is the grandson of Turkish immigrants who arrived in the
United States in the 1920s. He had served as treasurer of the
Maryland Democratic Party

Bengur, whose son Noah, a Marine captain and fighter pilot recently
fought in Iraq, has sought to boost his chances by bashing Republican
President George W. Bush’s Iraq policies. But other Democratic
contenders also had similar strategies

One-third of the Senate, Congress’ upper chamber, and the whole of
the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, will be renewed in
the November elections.

The Republican Party presently has command of both congressional
chambers, but following a steep drop in Bush’s public support because
of the unpopular Iraq war and a poor government response during and
after last year’s hurricane Katrina, the Democratic Party is likely
to regain majority in the House in November, many political observers
suggest

Maryland’s third district is viewed as a Democratic bastion, so the
winner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, most likely to be the younger
Sarbanes, is expected to defeat the Republican rival and grab the
House seat in November.

John White was leading the Republican primary in the same district
with 38 percent of the vote.

A native of Maryland, Bengur is a graduate of public schools in
Montgomery County, Maryland and Washington, D.C. He graduated from
Princeton University and holds a graduate degree in criminology from
Cambridge University. He lives in Towson, Maryland.