Will Smith triple Franchot? Quadruple?

Like we said the other day, Comptroller Peter Franchot’s potential primary challenger Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith has a campaign warchest that more than doubles that of the incumbent.

Will that be triple, quadruple by this time next year? Rachel Rice, principal of Rice Consulting, tells the Towson Times that Smith’s event last week is expected to raise between $350,000 and $400,000.

The next key indicator: whether Gov. Martin O'Malley and his allies use Franchot's anti-position on the slots referendum to choke off the flow of Democratic money. Where does Franchot go then? And will he look so weak by 2009 that most of the powerbrokers simply write him off?