Dan Rodricks: Nobody but nobody picked Ivan Bates to do so well against Marilyn Mosby

Nobody asked me, but any bystander who says they saw Ivan Bates leading Marilyn Mosby in the Democratic primary for Baltimore State’s Attorney going into the final count is a big liar-liar-pants-on-fire kinda liar. All predictions I heard had the incumbent drawing about the same level of support that she drew in 2018, with Bates and Thiru “Third Time’s A Bomb” Vignarajah splitting the rest. Bates’ showing is a welcome surprise. Nobody asked me, but, however disappointed, Mosby should feel relief with a loss in the primary. That outcome would allow her to devote her full attention to beating the federal rap.