The Chespeake Bay is getting some unexpected face time in recent political ads and campaign literature. Candidates are usually quiet on green issues in part because the environment barely registers in polls about what issues are important to voters.

Sister blog B'More Green notes that Bob Ehrlich, a Republican gubernatorial candidate and former governor, features the Chesapeake Bay in a television ad. And in Baltimore County's heated county executive race, the Democratic challengers have traded barbs about the environment.

From B'More Green:

"The latest, most visible example, is the ad from former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. that debuted on Facebook/YouTube on Sunday and will begin airing on local TV stations later this month. The 30-second spot, "Let's Get to Work," doesn't make any specific claims or promises, just flashes through a series of reasons why the Republican candidate says he's running - including the Bay.

The campaign issues Ehrlich has been hammering throughout the summer are mentioned, including fixing the state's budget woes, helping small businesses and ensuring excellent schools for all. But the brief litany ends with what appears to be a waterman saying "Protect the Bay - Finally."

The governor's race isn't the only one where the Bay or the environment are getting some attention. In the Baltimore County executive's race, Democratic Councilman Kevin Kamenetz is hitting his primary rival, Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, for votes he made years ago as a legislator on pesticides and bayfront development.

Bartenfelder has responded with his own ad saying Kamenetz is misrepresenting his environmental record. Such green-themed campaign ads are remarkable because polling routinely shows environmental issues aren't high on most voters' minds, whether in national, state or local races. Other than limited, targeted appeals to devoted greenies, candidates rarely bring up the environment on their own."