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The race for Governor may be slowly shifting in favor
of Martin O’Malley, Baltimore’s current mayor. Previously, slot machine
supporters campaigned for Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr., for the last four years
in fact. Slot machine supporters however, have recently reassessed the
likelihood of Ehrlich passing the slot machine bill through Maryland’s House
of Delegates.
Basically, because the House of Delegates is currently controlled by the
Democrats, the slot machine supporters believe that O’Malley might have more
of an influence and ability to persuade any current slot machine opponent.
Not everyone understands and address with this assumption though—why would
O’Malley be any more likely to affect the change in slot machine
legislation? Ehrlich stresses that if everyone believes that assumption,
“[we’d] never elect a Republican.”
But Tom Bowman, a former president of the Maryland Horse Breeders
Association, gave the following point of view on why a Democrat is better
suited to enact slot machine legislation: “It's my view that, from a
political standpoint, anyone in the governor's office that's a Democrat may
have a better chance to deliver on slots.” Bowman backed Ehrlich’s campaign
in earlier years, however he is still undecided on who to donate campaign
funds to for this election.
Gov. Ehrlich has felt the sting of decreased campaign funds, and it seems
that this drop in funding is a byproduct of the slot machine legislation
debate. For example, DeFrancis, (part owner of Pimlico Race Course and
Laurel Park) has switched sides since Ehrlich’s 2002 campaign—he recently
donated thousands in support of Mayor O’Malley. But not everyone has
completely abandoned Ehrlich in favor of the prospect of a Democratic
governor. In a wise move, the Thorough Breeders and Horsemen’s political
action committee spilt their donations and donated to both campaigns.
Though there is still time left to raise campaign funding, Ehrlich may not
pull as much gambling and slot machine related funds as his previous years;
O’Malley’s slot machine support may pull some of the funds into his
campaign.
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