WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected to visit Baltimore in the fall to speak at a fund-raiser for Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the likely Republican nominee for governor, the 2nd District congressman said yesterday.

After attending a bill signing at the White House, Ehrlich said that his staff is working out details with Bush aides and that the president probably will appear at a downtown event late next month or in October.

White House officials would not confirm a Bush appearance, saying that the president's schedule is made public only a few days in advance.

Ehrlich said that for the past year and a half -- including at the White House yesterday -- the president has expressed support for his candidacy whenever they see each other. "He calls me Gov," Ehrlich said.