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Former Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. confirmed Tuesday that he will challenge Gov. Martin O'Malley this fall. Ehrlich, the state's only Republican governor in a generation

Former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich plans to mount a comeback bid against Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley this year, WJLA-TV reported Wednesday. Ehrlich will announce his run on April 7 in Rockville, according to the station. The former governor will also make a campaign stop at his childhood home in Arbutus that evening. Ehrlich was elected governor of his state in 2002, becoming the first Republican to hold that office since Spiro Agnew. O'Malley ousted him in the 2006 elections by a six-point margin.

When Sen. Barbara Mikulski squelched rumors of her impending retirement by announcing she's ready for a fifth term, she also put a damper on the career aspirations of ambitious Maryland politicians. "The only people who want Mikulski out more than Republicans are elected Democrats for whom she is posing a logjam in upward mobility," said Don Murphy, a former Maryland delegate and GOP strategist who advises Republican Mikulski challenger Eric Wargotz.

Standing in the expansive basement family room of a Fulton mansion, Dr. Eric S. Wargotz explained why he thinks 2010 will be so kind to Republicans that he's got a chance to replace four- term U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, arguably Maryland's most popular Democrat. "I'm running because I believe I can do it," said Wargotz, 53, a first-term Queen Anne's County commissioner. "I see an opening here. Look at Scott Brown," he said, referring to the once-obscure Massachusetts Republican state senator catapulted to national celebrity by winning a special election for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat....

Well folks, just when you thought that there might be some hope that the anti-gun faithful members of the Maryland State Senate had learned their lesson about proposing nonsense bills like bans on so-called assault weapons, they prove otherwise. Senator Mike Lennett (D), District 19, Montgomery County, has introduced SB516, the Maryland Assault Weapons Ban of 2010. His co-sponsors are a veritable Who's Who of the anti-gun wing of the Senate. Now's the time to head this thing off before the hearing is even scheduled and let the members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee know that Maryland citizens will...

The leading Republican with clear plans to challenge Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley this fall has dropped out of the race. In a long note posted today on his blog, Hogan cites the looming possibility of Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s gubernatorial bid as the reason his own bid is ending:

Black Conservative Republican, Corrogan Vaughn has launched his candidacy for US Senate against Barbara Mikulski. He is a strong supporter of the tea party movement, and is receiving support from black Christian Democrats, a large demographic in Maryland. His website is found at Vaughn4america.com. Youth volunteers are bringing a lot of energy in the campaign and have set up a website at youth4vaughn.com. Candidate profile: http://www.examiner.com/x-9345-Baltimore-County-Republican-Examiner~y2010m1d14-Candidate-profile--Corrogan-Vaughn-for-US-Senate

For Immediate Release Vaughn is the Republican Party’s best hope in claiming Maryland’s U.S. Senate Seat Baltimore, Md.--, Corrogan R. Vaughn is the Republican Party’s best hope at reclaiming the U.S. Senate Seat currently held by Barbara Mikulski. Vaughn, a Baltimore Resident and businessman has long been active in Maryland’s Republican Party becoming one of its rising stars over the years. Vaughn, a behind-the-scenes conservative who has seen his influence grow as of late due to his association with the Tea Party Movement, opposition to Government-Run Health Care and the renewed interest in conservative fiscal and social values espoused by...

Grassroots Conservative Republican Candidate Corrogan R. Vaughn is set to announce his intentions to seek Maryland's Republican Party Nomination in the 2010 Primary. Mr. Vaughn is a true grassroots candidate, who is seeking to reverse the shameful record of Maryland's Senior Senator Barbara Mikulski, who has been nothing more than a dependable vote for a whole host of failed Liberal Causes and Policies during her time in the Senate. Mr. Vaughn was there on Capitol Hill during the fight to stop the scam that is the Democrat's Health Care Reform in the House and Senate as he joined his fellow...

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. -- A former state delegate who served in Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich's administration plans to announce Wednesday that he will challenge Gov. Martin O'Malley in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. < break > The former majority whip served as secretary of veterans affairs under Mr. Ehrlich. He has been a sharp critic of Mr. O'Malley's fiscal policies, disagreeing with Mr. O'Malley's decision to raise the sales tax during a 2007 special session.

Self-Evident Truths: Sen. Dianne Feinstein says it comes under the Commerce Clause. Rep. Steny Hoyer says it's mandated by the "general welfare" clause. Despite liberal wishes, health care is not a right. The "living Constitution" that Democrats and their court appointees have given us may be the death of our freedoms. Their constitution adapts to the times and serves the whims of the elitists. The Constitution is supposed to limit government powers. It does not allow government to do anything it feels like doing. Cass Sunstein, the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, is the author of...

Health Reform: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says it's constitutional to mandate insurance coverage. Congress, he insists, has "broad authority" to make us buy things to provide for the "general welfare." Democrats' Alice In Wonderland interpretation of what they consider to be a "living Constitution," where words mean what they say they mean based on political considerations, gets more bizarre by the minute. (snip) We've been down this road before. In 1994, Hillary Clinton's secretive health care task force was trying to nationalize health care. "A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of...

Excerpt: Charles Lollar, a conservative Republican from Charles County, announced this week his candidacy for the District 5 congressional seat held by House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D). “We’re going to speak the truth. We’re going to speak about what matters. There are people hurting out there,” Lollar told about 80 supporters gathered Wednesday at the American Legion banquet hall in Greenbelt, where he announced his run that was expected after he set up an exploratory committee several months ago. Lollar, 38, a Newburg resident and regional general manager for Cintas uniform company, is the first official challenger to...

More than a thousand fans of former Maryland governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. are expected to turn out Saturday for a family corn roast, where kids will be able to take pony rides while their parents pose for pictures with the Republican and his wife. Proceeds will go to a campaign account Ehrlich has kept open since his 2006 reelection loss. The event in Reisterstown comes a week after he was the main attraction at a Republican spaghetti dinner in Cockeysville and another event just days before, where he was warmly received over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres by a GOP...

With freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil’s (D-Md.) conservative Eastern Shore district near the top of the Republican target list next year, Maryland state Sen. Andy Harris aims to avenge what turned out to be one of the most disappointing losses of 2008 for the GOP. But he might not be alone. Sources say state Sen. E.J. Pipkin is also leaning toward entering the primary for a second-straight cycle, and former state House Minority Leader Al Redmer told The Hill on Monday that he too could run against Harris.