Please define "landslide"

Lawyer Bruce Stern announced his entry to the 8th District's Republican primary earlier this week with the launch of his website, a professional looking effort.

How much more of an effort he'll put into the race is unclear. This is his first run for public office and he's up against arguably the best politician in Maryland, who also ranks in the top twenty House members for cash-on-hand.

As for his credentials, he's a practicing attorney and the principal of Stern & Associates, a Montgomery County law firm. He is also the owner of Peninsula Settlements, LLC, a real estate settlement company based in Montgomery County.

Stern's angle is that he's a moderate who'll give the GOP a shot at stealing some independents from Van Hollen.

"I made the decision to run because I felt that if the Republican party nominated another conservative candidate, it would simply lead to another landslide victory for Mr. Van Hollen as it was in 2004 and 2006," Stern said in a press release.

This isn't a bad tack for Stern, though it could use some refining. Stern is too much of a novice to see that Van Hollen's role as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee means a heightened partisan identification which could hurt him with independents and some of the less than enthusiastic Democrats in the district.

Could hurt, but probably won't. How much damage could he really do? Hold Van Hollen to 67, 65%? Where I'm from, we still call that a "landslide."

Still, Stern could be on to more than he thought by portraying himself as a moderate in field of conservatives.

Now, see if that wins you the primary.