Miller fundraiser adds to speculation that Senate President will seek reelection

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Chesapeake Beach) may be running for reelection after all. Weeks after his 2006 victory, the nine-term state senator announced that he would not seek reelection in 2010, but as The Washington Post reported this morning, Miller has planned a June 4 fundraiser, adding to speculation that he will seek another term in the General Assembly.

Miller’s office declined comment about the event or his future when contacted today by PolitickerMD.com, and several of his senate colleagues were not available for comment.

The event, priced at $1,000-per-person and scheduled to take place in Baltimore, will include Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and other Democratic leaders, the Post reported.

In the past, Miller, 65, has spent a majority of his campaign funds on his colleagues’ elections; downplaying the significance of the fundraiser. Similar speculation grew last May when Miller netted $150,000 from a fundraiser in Baltimore.

According to the Post, the invitation sent to supporters describing the fundraiser talks of Miller’s desire to work with O’Malley and other elected officials “both now and in the future,” but does not say he will seek another term.

Elected to the House of Delegates in 1970, Miller has served in the Senate since 1975; the latter 21 years as Senate president.

Sens. Thomas Middleton (D-Waldorf), the chair of the Finance Committee; Ulysses Currie (D-Forestville), chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee; and Brian Frosh (D-Bethesda), who chairs the Judicial Proceedings Committee; have all been mentioned as possible successors to Miller.