Poll Shows Ehrlich Lagging As He Opens Reelection Run
By Robert Barnes and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, June 28, 2006; Page A01
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. starts his reelection campaign today significantly trailing Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, according to a new Washington Post poll. Though the state's voters give the governor good marks for the job he's done, they also appear inclined to return a Democrat to the governor's mansion.
Ehrlich kicks off his campaign today at his boyhood home in the Baltimore suburb of Arbutus, attempting to become the state's first Republican governor in 50 years to serve a second term. But the poll shows why he is preparing to spend a record amount and why he is considered one of the nation's most endangered Republican governors.
Ehrlich is running in an overwhelmingly Democratic state at a time when voters are not happy with the GOP. Maryland voters are more critical than voters nationally of the Bush administration and more strongly opposed to the war in Iraq. And, unlike earlier in Ehrlich's term, more Marylanders than not believe the state is heading in the wrong direction, the poll shows.
Public education is the top priority of voters statewide, and that is the area where they give Ehrlich his lowest marks. Among the state's largest jurisdictions, controlling crime ranks a strong second in Prince George's and Baltimore counties; growth and transportation are emerging priorities in Montgomery.
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