Less than two hours after Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced his running mate in the governor's race Monday, his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, attacked the choice.
Brown's campaign released an analysis, complete with footnotes, of five major issues on which Gansler's positions appear to conflict with that of his new running mate, Prince George's County Del. Jolene Ivey.
Gansler has criticized the current administration for raising the tax on gasoline and and suggested the state should lower the corporate income tax rate, two increases that Ivey voted for as a state legislator. Other policy differences named by the Brown campaign: repealing the death penalty, general tax increases over the past seven years and wind energy.
"We are hopeful that Delegate Ivey ... can explain to the Attorney General why his views are wrong on these important issues," Brown campaign manager Justin Schall said in a statement.
Gansler's campaign spokesman Bob Wheelock said that the attorney general and Ivey have spoken about their differences of opinion. Though he said he could not comment on an analysis he hasn't reviewed, he added that "they talked, they understand each other. We're not closed to other opinions."