Though tight races frequently draw political stars, gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said it is unlikely that a cast of national characters like Sarah Palin will parade through Maryland stumping for him.
“We don’t need big names to come in,” Ehrlich said Wednesday, noting that as a former governor most voters already know who he is. “We really haven’t used that as a model.”
In general, he said the long speeches and crowded rallies designed to showcase the stars can be unpleasant. “You can’t hear. People get bored and they leave,” he said. The typical star-laden fundraiser will include an hour or more of speeches by lesser pols before the main event.
Also a large personality like Palin can eclipse the campaign. "Our message is jobs and jobs and jobs and taxes and fiscal realities and jobs. And education and jobs."
Ehrlich said he prefers more intimate fundraising events known as house parties – small gatherings at a donor’s private residence. Also he said he’s expecting a check from the Republican Governor’s Association – but it hasn’t arrived.
One exception, he said, could be for former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whom Ehrlich counts as a personal friend.
The Maryland state Republicans have already attracted potential 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the Democrats are promising Vice President Joe Biden will stump for Gov. Martin O’Malley.