There is a deep pool of Democrats in Maryland, to be sure, I dunno about the "talented" part. Talented I would call someone winning a tough contest in an area that might not necessarily share their views, but they're able to win them over, regardless. Most of the Dem pols either win by default or through winning gerrymandered tailor-made districts.
As has been mentioned many times before, the biggest problem the Democrats face is the anger by their large Black base, that they're not getting their fair share of opportunities to run for an win statewide offices. It's not enough they represent a Baltimore City district and heavily Black PG County in Congress, they want a Senate seat. But White Democrats also know that virtually none of the potential Black Dems that could run for statewide office are viable for a general election, since they tend to be polarizing figures (though Whites could win with virtually liberal ideologically identical candidates). They're trying to hold together a potentially explosive caldron of racially-based interests, and the Steele candidacy could end up being the spark that blows the joint sky-high.
This has always been the problem with Black voters putting all of their eggs in one basket -- they are always at the mercy of the Democrats (and similarly, representing such a huge and oft taken-for-granted bloc, the Democrats are solely at the mercy of Black voters). This is one allegiance that needs to be smashed with a jackhammer, for the good of the country, and for the good of Black folks that need liberation from the party of human bondage.