On the gubernatorial campaign trail for 2010: Lollar may not qualify; Hogan wants Ehrlich; Owings raising cash
The field of would-be gubernatorial candidates might already be narrowed by one. Charles Lollar, chairman of the GOP central committee in Charles County whose name has been floated as a potential contender for the Republicans, might not meet constitutional standards, The Gazette reported today.
Under the Maryland Constitution, a candidate for governor or lieutenant governor must have been a resident and registered voter in the state for five years before the general election. According to the newspaper report, Lollar’s voter registration card showed he signed his application on June 6, 2006. Lollar, who moved here from Atlanta in October 2005, says he submitted his application soon after arriving and that there was a delay in processing it. The election is in November 2010.
But Lollar may set his sights on Washington rather than governor’s mansion in Annapolis anyway. He's reportedly considering a congressional campaign against U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, a long-time Maryland Democrat and the powerful House majority leader. Under the U.S. Constitution, representatives must have been a U.S. citizen for seven years and a resident of state where they are elected.
Lollar is clearly planning some sort of campaign. If a recent e-mail message is a guide, he’s looking at the national stage.
In the e-mail, Lollar weighed in on President Barack Obama’s prime-time press conference on his health care proposal. He accused the administration of ramming the proposal through Congress and declared: “American families want to have a choice in their health care without the mandates and top-down control of Government Care.”
Meanwhile, another potential gubernatorial candidate from the GOP downplayed rumors he might run.
Lawrence J. Hogan Jr., a real estate company executive who almost unseated Hoyer in the 1990s, said in a mass e-mail that he believes Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has a better shot at defeating Gov. Martin O’Malley. Hogan served in Ehrlich's cabinet before the governor lost to O’Malley, a Democrat, in 2006. Ehrlich has yet to decide whether he’ll get in the race. Hogan, for one, seems content to wait.
“I’m certainly flattered that anyone would even consider me as a potential candidate for Maryland Governor, and I’m proud to be called the number one backup to Bob Ehrlich,” Hogan wrote in his e-mail. “But, let me be clear, my friend Bob Ehrlich, after his lifetime of effort, and his many accomplishments, has earned the right to take all the time he needs to make up his mind on this important decision.”
On the Democratic side, the field may soon expand by one. George W. Owings III, a former state delegate and Calvert County Democrat who served as secretary of veterans affairs under Ehrlich, has officially opened a campaign account. He said he’s “actively raising money and speaking to different groups.” Stay tuned for an official announcement from him.
Comments
Wow, that's great Mr. Lollar. The first thing you do when you discover that you are not eligible to run for Governor is to blame that damned bureaucracy for processing the application too slowly, when your own signature on the application form shows when you registered to vote in Maryland.
You are not even an announced candidate and you are already lying to the press and the people of Maryland.
Way to kick off your campaign with some honesty, integrity, and responsibility for your own actions.
Posted by: kickingleft | July 24, 2009 3:11 PM
Hey Kicking left
remember these OMalley gems-
83 percent of you will see your taxes go down.
I will stop this BGE rate increase.
And my favorite
the previous governor left me this mess.
My second favorite
He (Ehrlich) was probably out golfing.
Seems to me we all learn at the feet of the master Martin OMalley
the boy king!
Posted by: jay | July 24, 2009 4:11 PM
If he wants to be governor (if he still can) he has two strikes against him...
1) He's from GEORGIA! So much for deep roots
2) He better watch how he talks about Montgomery and Baltimore with regard to the budget....
and he's no where near as moderate as ehrlich was, which might be a problem with some of those wedge issues....
Posted by: Rod Simms | July 25, 2009 9:41 AM
What happened to Wayne Curry? O'Malley has done nothing for the African-American community except pretend to care. Why can't we get a real leader in there?
Posted by: Lancelot | July 25, 2009 6:02 PM
This state doesn't deserve Ehrlich.
The man is too honest to fit in with the likes of the MOB and will never defeat their ruling ways no matter how hard he tries. Beside, he doesn't have the killer instinct it would take to defeat this 3 headed dragon.
He can do a better job defeating this Maryland corrupt government from within the private sector.
I know Ehrlich feels he has a bone to pick with O'Malley, but why continue to play chicken with a liar, cheater and stealer?
The only way to beat this game is not to play at all. The rules are already fixed in their favor before you even sit down at the table.
Posted by: Carole | July 26, 2009 9:00 AM
Kicking Left,
I know Mr. Charles Lollar and he is a good man, and I have never known him to lie. He is a Marine Officer and a man raised on the honor system, you do not cheat, steal or lie. He also does not speak ill of others which is a leason you should learn. Maryland and our country need more candidates like Mr. Lollar regardless of party to serve our communities and nation.
Posted by: David Willenborg | July 26, 2009 11:06 AM
Wayne Curry: Wasn't he one of those fools who endorsed Steele for the Senate seat?
Posted by: freedomlover | July 27, 2009 8:33 AM
Ehrlich would be a better "fit" for Maryland that O'Malley. The Democrats are destroying the state by allowing O'Malley free "rein" without any over-sight. O'Malley hasn't had an original idea since he became governor, he stole his ideas from Ehrlich and others O'Malley's even embracing California plans, and that state is going down the tubes ! !. Take the slots issue, the Democrats lynched Ehrlich, but when it became an "O'Malley Plan" they fell to the ground in praise for an "O'Malley" savior.
Posted by: JoeB | July 29, 2009 8:23 AM