Palin endorsement didn’t help Murphy - Ehrlich leads 75%-13%

Center Maryland via Maryland Politics

Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Brian Murphy may have boosted the Republican gubernatorial long-shot’s efforts at attracting attention from the media, but it appears to do more harm than good among likely GOP primary voters, according to a new poll released Monday.

The Center Maryland / OpinionWorks telephone poll of likely Maryland voters found that former Gov. Robert Ehrlich holds a commanding lead over Murphy among Republican primary voters, 75 percent to 13 percent. (Click here to see the question and results.)

But with 11 percent of likely Republican primary voters still undecided, it’s possible that Murphy could break through Maryland’s “Fustero line” – the 20 percent threshold that political observers suggest might represent a weakness in Ehrlich’s hold over his party base.

“Brian Murphy has a distinct message, and if he gets out there, he might improve those numbers a bit,” said Steve Raabe, president and founder of the Annapolis-based OpinionWorks, which conducted the poll in conjunction with the non-profit Center Maryland. “As it stands today, Murphy may end up in the low 20s.

“I don’t see any signs that Ehrlich is in any trouble in the primary,” said Raabe, whose firm has extensive experience polling in Maryland political races, including for the Baltimore Sun during recent campaigns. “Murphy’s real impact is to hurt Ehrlich in the longer run by raising concerns about his fiscal record as Governor.”

The Center Maryland / OpinionWorks Statewide Voter Survey was conducted August 13-18, 2010. The telephone survey questioned 600 likely General Election voters statewide, and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. The sample was balanced by region of the state, political party, age, gender, and race/ethnicity to reflect the characteristics of Maryland’s likely voter population.

Palin advisor who loaned O’Malley money is behind Murphy endorsement?

Mark Newgent points out that attorney John Coale, the husband of Fox News personality Greta Van Susteren, is an advisor to former Governor Sarah Palin (who endorsed Brian Murphy over Bob Ehrlich yesterday.) Coale, as Newgent points out is a Democractic donor who got rich on the 1997 tobacco settlement.

Newgent goes on to point out a specific case where Coale assisted the 2006 campaign of Martin O’Malley.

An excerpt from Red Maryland:

Coale loaned O’Malley’s campaign $500,000 in the waning days of the 2006 gubernatorial campaign, a debt,

[...]

Between federal and state accounts Coale has given the Maryland Democratic Party over $60,000.

So given Coale’s ties and contributions to the Maryland Democratic machine is it any surprise that out of the blue Sarah Palin endorses the primary opponent of Bob Ehrlich, the one man who can end the Democrats stranglehold over the state.

Ken Holt running for Baltimore County Executive

WBAL.com

Ken Holt, a former member of the Maryland General Assembly, tells WBAL News he has made the decision to run for Baltimore County Executive.

The Republican says he has filed paperwork with the Maryland State Board of Elections establishing a campaign committee.

Holt, who retired from public service after leaving the legislature in 1998, says he has decided to make a run for county executive because he believes his combined experiences as a legislator, community activist, and businessman have uniquely prepared him to address the serious budgetary challenges Baltimore County is presently facing.

Report: Mikulski to retire?

The Vail Spot via Instapundit

I’ve just heard from an impeccable source that Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic Senator who is up for reelection this November, will choose to retire. Mrs. Mikulski is expected to make her formal announcement in the next few days.

Mrs. Mikulski seriously fractured her right ankle last fall just prior to Edward M. Kennedy’s death. Due to the severity of the fracture, she had to have open reduction surgery, that included the insertion of pins, as well as the use of special surgical boots, during recovery. She had tried to arrive in time for Mr. Kennedy’s funeral but was turned away.

Her recovery has been exceptionally slow and she is evidently still in a great deal of pain. Reportedly, she has told her physician that she does not desire to seek reelection. Additionally, friends and family have been saying in the near future she will announce her retirement. Because of the very slow recovery, she has been forced to use a wheelchair, a walker or a cane in order to get around.

If Mikulski does retire, then who would run for her job on both sides? Does Ehrlich jump in the Senate race and leave the race for Governor on the GOP side wide open again?

UPDATE: We are also hearing that Senator Barbara Mikulski’s campaign has done polling in the past week or two.

UPDATE 2
Chris Cilizza on Twitter

Rumors that Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) is retiring are NOT TRUE, according to informed D source.

Update 3
Mike Memoli tweets that he has 2 sources saying it’s not true.

Other blogging:
Hot Air
Red Maryland
Baltimore Republican Examiner
NRO

Ehrlich to attend Kathy Szeliga Event

Szeliga Event

Join us for Victory 2010
Fundraiser for
Kathy Szeliga, House of Delegates 2010
Baltimore and Harford Counties with special guest
Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.!

$100 - VIP Reception and dinner begins at 6:00 PM
$45 - dinner w/brief remarks from Bob Ehrlich begins at 6:30

Sponsorships available too - $1,000 - $150

Call or email Kathy Szeliga for more details:
[email protected]
443-570-1555

Donate online and mailing address available at
www.electkathy.com

Connect to ICC

Latest Tweet from @insidecharmcity

RSS & Social Media

Enter your email address to subscribe to our Daily Update:

Delivered by FeedBurner

News Links


MD Bloggers

badge/news.win.jpg
 

Archives

Monthly

Authors

Categories