DeFilippo: A Primer on How to Play the Election Game in a Jammed Field of Candidates for Governor

In crowded Democratic primary elections, smart candidates play the percentages. When Comptroller Peter Franchot, his resume boasting 35 years in elective office, announced his candidacy for governor ahead of the pack, he might have foreseen — but failed to scare out — a rush of eight other candidates for the open seat to succeed term-limited Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R). Ditto Doug Gansler, who served eight years as attorney general, then lost in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary.