2006 Governors Races

Maryland CBS NEWS PROJECTS MARTIN O'MALLEYWINNER Democrat Martin O'Malley vs. Republican Robert Ehrlich (Incumbent) Ehrlich was vulnerable – so much so, he was considered an underdog. Both candidates ran ads making education the central issue. O’Malley boasted the endorsement of the state’s largest teachers union; Ehrlich took shots at O’Malley, mayor of Baltimore, saying some of the state’s worst schools are in Baltimore. The O’Malley camp responded, according to the Washington Post, by running ads pointing out that Baltimore’s test scores and graduation rates are up. That set up a pointed Ehrlich zinger: "Mayor O’Malley is promising to do for the state what he has failed to do for .... Baltimore City." Ehrlich and O’Malley raised a record $24 million since 2003 – the Associated Press reported – in part, because donors found creative, legal ways to sidestep contribution limits.