Listen to O'Malley/Ehrlich Radio Debate

George Wenschhof

After two televised debates, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) and former Governor Robert Ehrlich faced off this morning on Baltimore WOLB Radio.

You can listen to the debate here.

The candidate campaigns immediately began the spin war with their respective releases claiming their candidate had won the debate.

Here is the release from the O'Malley campaign website where they point out the "F" grade Ehrlich has received by the NAACP every year from 1997 to 2002 and that Ehrlich had resorted to shrill and desperate attacks in the debate due to their being behind in the polls.

The release from the Ehrlich campaign can be read here. The release points out failures by O'Malley during his term as mayor of Baltimore in the areas of education and law enforcement.

Only 12 days remain until the General Election on November 2. It is doubtful the two candidates will appear together in another debate prior to the election.

The latest poll by Gonzales Research and Marketing Inc. showed Ehrlich had closed within 5 points of O'Malley.

The Maryland Democratic Party (MDP) is taking nothing for granted, including reminding voters of the shenanigans which took place in the 2002 and 2006 election. They also have started up a voter protection website. In a recent email to supporters, the MDP pointed out the following:

In the 2002 Governor’s race, Bob Ehrlich’s campaign distributed a brochure at African American voting precincts that included a picture of Mr. Ehrlich, Congressman Elijah Cummings and other notable African American leaders - along with the caption:“Democrats for Ehrlich.” That assertion was not true.

In 2006, Bob Ehrlich’s campaign for Governor bused homeless people from Philadelphia on Election Day to distribute fliers designed to trick African American Democratic voters into voting for him by falsely suggesting that Ehrlich was backed by prominent African American Democratic leaders. This year, in a fundraising email, the Ehrlich campaign suggested that it is impossible that African-Americans will turn out in high numbers in 2010.

Also today at 3:00 PM, former President Bill Clinton will headline a rally for Governor O'Malley in Baltimore.

All indications point to a further tightening in this race with voter turnout and specifically, the vote in Baltimore County being pivotal for the winner.

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