Maryland votes 2010: What they're saying about the election

looks at where the governor picked up votes.

Early in the campaign, Ehrlich said he hoped to make inroads in Montgomery County, which is home to many Republican and independent voters despite its reputation as a Democratic bastion. Ehrlich set a goal of becoming the first GOP candidate for governor to crack 40 percent in the jurisdiction since 1994.

Returns show Ehrlich falling far short, with O'Malley outpolling him in Montgomery, 68 to 31 percent.

• The governor's dominance in populous Prince George's County and Baltimore city, where he was mayor, made swing jurisdictions like Montgomery essential to an Ehrlich win. The

, however, were less than enthusiastic about their votes.

Several who pulled the lever for the Democratic incumbent -- O'Malley got 54 percent of the vote to Ehrlich's 44 percent -- said they were mostly voting against his opponent and, in particular, against his opponent's television ads.

• TBD's Kevin Robillard breaks down

Among them:

Ehrlich didn't formally announce his run until March of this year. That give him only eight months to raise money, set up a statewide campaign operation and make the case against his opponent. Since Maryland's governor isn't allowed to raise money during the legislative session, Ehrlich also lost a crucial opportunity to catch up in the money game by waiting until after legislators left Annapolis to announce.

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reflects on what Ehlrich's defeat means for the future of the Maryland Republican party.

The question now is, where does the Maryland Republican Party go from here? Does it continue doing the same things and expecting different results? Or will new leadership emerge and realize that we can no longer hope for the "perfect storm" to win a statewide race.

• Over at

, David Lublin chimes in on the state bucking the national Republican, anti-incumbent trend.

Maryland is just not following the rest of the nation in this election. O'Malley won by more than four years ago. My guess is Ehrlich was not helped by having held office before and he came across as reheated leftovers rather than something new. In legislative races, Dems lost six in the House but gained two in the Senate. If you like things Democratic, stay on this side of the Potomac.

Via The Baltimore Sun on Twitter

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@iamsoup

Will never visit #ArundelMills again. Thanks for saving me money. Seriously? #Slots do not belong at the mall.

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@bwalker97

I have no problem with slots out Arundel Mills, I would definitely go. But not smack dab in middle of the city..

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@dave_gilmore

Any word on whether arundel mills slots will have that star wars slots machine? I played that thing in Vegas and it ruled! #mdvotes

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@cbkron

Hey #MD01 way to step it up! Welcome back Dr. Andy Harris. The Old Line state got 1 thing right tonight...

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@MoreRuckus

Sad about Kratovil, though. He fought hard.

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@ImOnTheRight

Watching New Speaker Boehner on Foxnews. Great to see him get a little emotional. Love that he said its time for work not celebration.

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@vdaze

Let's be clear: this election was about rejecting a dysfunctional congress, NOT a rejection of Obama. Got it? #p2

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@kpdavis

4 billion spent on election campaigns? We are SO broken...that might have created a couple of jobs don't you know?

[Compiled by Steve Earley]