Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Civil War in Libya - government forces continue to battle rebels demanding the removal of Muammar Gaddafi. The possibility of a protracted civil war is indeed a real one. Reuters.com has more below.



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Republicans and Democrats Already Developing Plans for 2012 Congressional Races - Democrats need to pick up 25 seats in the House to regain a majority and have already targeted 14 Republican held seats in Democratic leaning districts. Over, in the Senate, where Republicans only need to pick up 3 seats, five contests have been zeroed in on and the strategy begun. TheHill.com has a good read here.

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Romney Speaks to New Hampshire Republicans - Mitt Romney, one of the leading contenders for the Republican 2012 presidential, called for the repeal of the Obama health care law. A problem hanging over his head, as he enacted a similar law when he was Governor of Massachusetts. Politico.com has more here.

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Peter O'Malley, brother of Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley Become Maryland Democratic Party Chair - in a formal vote yesterday as Maryland Democrats gathered for their annual meeting. Peter O'Malley has long been involved in managing the campaigns of his brother and knows Democrats across the state very well.

The state coordinated campaign next year will focus on the reelection of President Obama and Senator Ben Cardin, along with the eight congressional seats up for election. The Baltimore Sun has more here.

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Ehrlich To Make Run for MD Governor Official

George Wenschhof

As we reported two weeks ago, former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich (R) will challenge Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) in a rematch of the 2006 election. Ehrlich made his announcement this morning in Rockville, Maryland.

The Maryland Democratic Party, anticipating an Ehrlich run, has been blasting away at their opponent for some time. The latest was a email blast to reporters with the following questions they wanted asked:

Six questions we hope reporters ask Bob Ehrlich at his third campaign announcement

As Bob Ehrlich holds his third campaign announcement tomorrow there are several questions that remain unanswered about his candidacy. We've put together a list of a few that we hope reporters will ask him.

1) What do you think of the job Michael Steele is doing at the RNC? Have you asked your Lt. Gov. to campaign for you?

2) What are your responsibilities as a leader of the China Practice for Womble Carlyle?

3) Do you consider yourself a Tea Party Republican?

4) You have clients that have accepted federal Government TARP or Stimulus funds. Did you advise them to take those funds? Do you support their decision?

5) Will you disclose how much you are paid by Womble Carlyle? Or how much you and Kendel are paid by WBAL?

6) Do you promise to refrain from the controversial tactics your campaign used at the end of the 2006 race? We're referring specifically to your campaign busing in homeless from Philadelphia to distribute fake endorsement literature in African-American Communities.

There are clearly many more questions that could and should be asked but we know Bob Ehrlich isn't exactly the most forthcoming person.

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Well, you get the picture. This race is not going to be pretty. Already today, Governor O'Malley challenged Ehrlich to a debate on Ehrlich's radio show this Saturday morning on Baltimore area WBAL Radio. The Baltimore Sun has more here. Seems Ehrlich did not like the idea of a moderator.

Ehrlich is under fire for continuing to participate in his weekly radio show, although it is permissible under campaign regulations up until the time he actually files for the office. The deadline for filing in this year's Maryland elections is July 6.

In addition, Ehrlich's ties to embattled RNC chair Michael Steele are already surfacing. Steele was chosen by Ehrlich to be his Lt. Governor. You can read more here.

A sign that Martin O'Malley is taking this race seriously is his brother Peter O'Malley just resigned from his position as Chief of staff to Baltimore County Executive James Smith. He will immediately join the reelection effort. Peter is a brilliant political tactician and will be a huge plus to the campaign. Peter has been involved in his brother's campaigns since he won as Mayor of Baltimore.

Stay tuned as this race promises to be exciting.

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