Maryland: Lucky Seventh?

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At a rally outside Baltimore last week, Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate George P. Mahoney, 64, whipped off a shoe and brandished it triumphantly. Showing off a hole the size of a quarter, Mahoney bragged of his 17 years "walking up and down" the state campaigning. In fact, despite six previous tries for statewide office, Mahoney, a millionaire gravel and paving contractor, has never before been considered a serious candidate. The difference this year is that he latched onto the single controversial issue of open housing, to which he is fervently opposed. With his sound trucks blaring "Your home is your castle" to the tune of The Bells of St. Mary's, Mahoney has built a commanding lead over his moderate Republican rival, Spiro ("Ted") Agnew, 47.

Agnew (his Greek immigrant father changed the name from Anagnostopoulos) has been an able, low-key administrator of Baltimore County. His campaign started slowly: for weeks he orated on such rarefied topics as air pollution. Now he says he's "getting a little mad." Agnew, who advocates open-housing legislation for new apartments and subdivisions, is trying to connect Mahoney with the Klan, says Maryland must choose between "the courageous flame of righteousness and the evil of a fiery cross."

Agnew has yet to muster enough steam to beat a 3-to-l Democratic registration among the state's 900,000 voters. In the topsy-turvy campaign, Republican Agnew has the support of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and even of the Baltimore chapter of A.D.A. Mahoney has shown notable strength among blue-collar workers in Baltimore and low-income homeowners in the suburbs. To beat him, Negro leaders in Baltimore would have to deliver almost all of their 140,000 votes for Agnew.