Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 10th legislative district in the House of Delegates from 1987 to 1995 and Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 1995 to 2003. Ehrlich was the first Republican to serve as governor of Maryland since

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second of two vice presidents to resign, the first being John C. ...

left office in 1969. He served one term before being defeated in his 2006 re-election bid by Democrat

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Ehrlich sought an unsuccessful rematch against O'Malley. Ehrlich then announced, via his website, that he would "return to private life." In October 2011, he was named chair of

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

's Maryland campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination for President.

Early life, career, and family

Ehrlich was born in the Southwest Baltimore suburb of

Arbutus, Maryland Arbutus is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,483 at the 2010 census. The census area also contains the communities of Halethorpe and Relay, in which all ...

, the son of Nancy (Bottorf), a legal secretary, and Robert Leroy Ehrlich, a commission car salesman. After attending

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school, independent, day school, day, college preparatory school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre ...

, he studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he attended on a partial scholarship and was captain of the football team and a member of the

Cap and Gown Club Cap and Gown Club, founded in 1891, is an eating club at Princeton University, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Colloquially known as "Cap", the club is one of the "Big Four" eating clubs at Princeton (the others are The Ivy Club, Unive ...

. Ehrlich graduated from Princeton with an A.B. in politics in 1979 after completing a 140-page long senior thesis titled " Alexander Solzenitsyn: The Man and His Politics." He continued on to law school, graduating from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1982. After law school, Ehrlich worked for Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver, a Baltimore law firm, and became active in politics. In November 1986, Ehrlich won a seat in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

, representing parts of

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

from 1987 to 1995.

Personal

He married Kendel Sibiski in 1993. They have two sons, Drew Robert Ehrlich and Joshua Taylor Ehrlich. As of 2013, he was a frequent guest on the '' Sports Junkies.''

U.S. House of Representatives (1995–2003)

In 1993, 2nd district Representative Helen Delich Bentley announced she would be vacating her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ehrlich announced his candidacy for the open seat and won the election in November 1994. During his term, he introduced legislation aimed at helping

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

people maintain employment and supported harsher

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

penalties. While in Congress, Ehrlich served on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. He was also a member of the subcommittees on health, telecommunications and the Internet, and environment and hazardous materials; the Congressional Biotechnology Caucus, where he served as co-chairman; and the Congressional Steel Caucus. In 1999, He voted to remove president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

from office during Clinton's impeachment trial. Ehrlich won all his elections in Congress by margins of at least 25%. He announced he would be forgoing reelection in 2002 to run for governor. He was succeeded by

Dutch Ruppersberger Charles Albert "Dutch" Ruppersberger III ( ; born January 31, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as an assistant state attorney o ...

2002 Maryland gubernatorial campaign

In 2002, Democratic Governor Parris Glendening's second term was ending. While Glendening had been reelected by a substantial margin in 1998, the final years of his term were plagued by a personal marital crisis, and a large state

budget deficit Within the budgetary process, deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue over a particular period of time, also called simply deficit, or budget deficit, the opposite of budget surplus. The term may be applied to the budg ...

. The rural areas of Marylandlargely Republicanhad long criticized Glendening for what they perceived as zealous environmental regulations; in addition, they believed that he did not give sufficient attention to their needs for infrastructure improvements (bridges, highways, etc.). On March 15, 2002, Ehrlich announced his candidacy for the governorship. He attacked Glendening's record, tying his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend (born July 4, 1951) is an American attorney who served as the sixth lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She was the first woman to serve in that role. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran ...

, to him. Ehrlich promised, if elected, to increase school funding, balance the budget, and protect the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. His running mate was

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) f ...

, an African-American and the chair of the Maryland Republican Party. During the election, Townsend was criticized for her choice of running mate; she picked retired

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Charles R. Larson, a novice politician who had switched parties only a few weeks before. The Townsend campaign was also hurt by the unpopularity of Glendening, who had implemented a

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

proposal that was overturned by Maryland's highest court. Townsend's popularity continued to fall when it was reported that much of her campaign money was given by out-of-state donors; Ehrlich remained on the attack while the lieutenant governor's poll numbers declined. Though

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

traditionally votes Democratic and had not elected a Republican governor in almost 40 years, Ehrlich won the race (52% of the vote to Townsend's 48%). He was the sixth Republican governor in state history and the first since

left office to take the Vice Presidency in 1969.

Governor of Maryland (2003–2007)

Robert ehrlich speaking at healthierUS summit cropped

Ehrlich said "fiscal responsibility, education, health, and the environment, public safety, and commerce" were the "Five Pillars" of his administration. He opposed sales and

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

increases and supported legalization of

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

s to raise revenue. Under Ehrlich's tenure, Maryland stayed 0.5% or more below the national unemployment average. The unemployment rate dropped significantly from 4.5% in 2003 to 3.9% in 2006, with an increase of 98,000 private sector jobs, aided by its proximity to the strong labor market associated with the national capital. Ehrlich established a Department of Disabilities within his cabinet for people with disabilities – the first such cabinet-level agency in the nation. In 2004, Ehrlich signed the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act: it funds upgrades of water treatment plants to reduce pollution discharge by a surcharge on business and residential water and septic bills. The resulting reduction in pollution into the bay was expected to meet approximately one-third of Maryland's obligations under the 200
Chesapeake Bay Agreement
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation described the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act as the most significant piece of legislation for the Bay in a generation. Ehrlich opposed President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's 2006 approval for a

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

firm to take control of six U.S. port operations, including those at the

Port of Baltimore The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a Port, shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's la ...

. (See

Dubai Ports World controversy The Dubai Ports World controversy began in February 2006 and rose to prominence as a national security debate in the United States. At issue was the sale of port management businesses in six major U.S. seaports to a company based in the United ...

). In 2006, Ehrlich signed a law banning police traffic ticket quotas.

Veto of the "Wal-Mart" Health Care Bill

In January 2006, Ehrlich vetoed the "Fair Share Health Care Bill," also known as the

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Bill, which required businesses with more than 10,000 employees in the state (three of the four companies being Walmart,

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

, and

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

) to either spend eight percent of payroll on employee health care, or pay that amount to a state health program for the uninsured. The bill was commonly nicknamed after Walmart because it was the only company in Maryland of that size that did not already spend the requisite eight percent. Ehrlich, after consulting with counsel regarding the legal validity of the bill, vetoed the proposed legislation as it would run afoul of federal law. Despite this, and over the pleas of state representatives whose constituents benefited from Walmart's employment and feared a diminished presence in the state, the Democratic legislators of the Maryland Legislature passed the bill over Ehrlich's veto, in part leading to cancellation of the building of a Walmart distribution center in one of Maryland's poorest counties. Critics of the international discount chain claimed that Wal-Mart's low wages force employees and their dependents to rely on state healthcare assistance. (See Wal-Mart Employee and Labor Relations). The bill's supporters claimed that the veto showed Ehrlich, whose official biography describes him as "unapologetically pro-business," had sided with "big corporate interests rather than Maryland's working families." For his part, Ehrlich called the bill the "first step toward government-run health care" by "anti-jobs lawmakers." He claimed that it would hurt low and middle-income consumers and was unfair to Wal-Mart and other businesses. On July 7, 2006, the Maryland law was overturned in federal court by U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz, who ruled that the law violated the

Employee Retirement Income Security Act The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (, codified in part at ) is a U.S. federal tax and labor law that establishes minimum standards for pension plans in private industry. It contains rules on the federal income tax e ...

(ERISA) of 1974, while also noting that it would "hurt Wal-Mart by imposing the administrative burden of tracking benefits in Maryland differently than in other states."

2006 gubernatorial election

Governor Ehrlich opted to seek a second term and did not face opposition in the Republican primary. On November 7, 2006, Ehrlich was defeated for re-election in the 2006 gubernatorial election by Baltimore Mayor

, who won 53% to Ehrlich's 46%. Ehrlich's term as governor expired at noon on January 17, 2007.

Between elections

A month after he left public office, Ehrlich and several aides from his administration opened a Baltimore-area office of North Carolina law firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. His wife Kendel took a consulting job as a director of the BankAnnapolis. In March 2007, Ehrlich endorsed former New York Mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

for the US presidency. He was the Chairman of Giuliani's Mid-Atlantic Campaign Committee. Ehrlich and his wife hosted their own radio show on WBAL-AM Radio every Saturday from 2007 to 2010. Governor Ehrlich has guest lectured at Towson University in Professor

Richard Vatz Richard Eugene Vatz (born December 21, 1946) is an American academic, lecturer and writer who is a professor of Rhetoric and Communication at Towson University. Vatz is a Faculty Fellow at the Eastern Communication Association (ECA) and has ...

's political persuasion class twice a year since 1993.

2010 gubernatorial campaign

On March 30, Ehrlich announced that he would challenge incumbent Governor Martin O'Malley. In June 2010, Ehrlich was endorsed by Terrapin basketball standout and

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

NBA draft pick

Greivis Vásquez Greivis Josué Vásquez Rodríguez (born January 16, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional basketball player, who spent six seasons in the NBA. He is currently a coach, most recently working as the associate head coach for the Birmingham Squa ...

. On June 30, 2010, Ehrlich announced that his running mate would be Mary Kane, who had served under Governor Ehrlich as secretary of state, August 2, 2005, to January 17, 2007, and also as deputy secretary of state and chief legal counsel, March 2003 to August 2, 2005. He easily won the Republican primary. His former lieutenant governor, then Chairman of the Republican National Committee

, traveled to Maryland on his "Fire Pelosi" bus tour to endorse Ehrlich. Former Massachusetts Governor

also appeared at a fundraiser to endorse Ehrlich. Former New York City Mayor

campaigned in Maryland with Ehrlich, calling him "one of the best governors of all-time." In the general election, Ehrlich lost again to O'Malley 56% to 42%. In December 2011, Ehrlich's 2010 campaign manager, Paul E. Schurick, was convicted of four counts of fraud and conspiracy concerning a scheme to suppress the black vote using 112,000 fraudulent robocalls, which discouraged voters from going to the polls. Political consultant Julius Hensen was also convicted on one count.

Support for presidential candidates

In October 2011, Ehrlich was named chairman of

's Maryland campaign for election as president in 2012. After initially supporting

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

as a Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential primaries, Ehrlich endorsed nominee

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in May 2016.

After politics

As of December 2020, Ehrlich was working as senior counsel in the Washington office of King & Spalding, a major corporate law firm, on the governmental advocacy and public policy (lobbying) team. In August 2022, the Maryland Republican Party announced that Ehrlich would lead its "2022 Victory Campaign" to support the party's nominees in that year's elections, including Dan Cox and Michael Peroutka. He spent most of his tenure fundraising for the Maryland Republican Party as a whole. Cox and Peroutka were defeated in a landslide by Democratic nominees

Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. Moore was born in Maryland and raised primarily in New York. ...

and Anthony Brown in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Election history

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1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

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2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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Footnotes

External links

Maryland Archives gubernatorial biography

Congressional Quarterly elections library
* Ehrlich Personnel Stor

* MD Gubernatorial Candidates List
at Ballotpedia

(official campaign site, archived from 2002) * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlich, Bob 1957 births American talk radio hosts American United Methodists Gilman School alumni Republican Party governors of Maryland Living people Maryland lawyers Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Annapolis, Maryland People from Arbutus, Maryland Princeton Tigers football players Princeton University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Wake Forest University School of Law alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century Maryland politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives