Marylanders heading to N.H.

Mikulski, O'Malley among primary worker surge

The planes flying into New Hampshire this weekend will carry not only the leading candidates for president, they'll also transport Maryland supporters heading north for a final push before next week's primary.

Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski announced yesterday that she and Gov. Martin O'Malley will spend Saturday in New Hampshire campaigning for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mikulski is one of Clinton's national campaign co-chairmen. O'Malley is an early endorser of Clinton who has previously traveled to New Hampshire on her behalf.

Mikulski will participate in events targeting "undecided women" voters, said Melissa Schwartz, the senator's spokeswoman, and will also greet a busload of Capitol Hill staffers and union representatives from Maryland. Mikulski and O'Malley will appear together at a labor rally in Manchester.

O'Malley will canvass neighborhoods on Saturday and Sunday, and will address undecided young professional voters at a roundtable, said his spokesman, Rick Abbruzzese.

One of Maryland's most prominent supporters of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, spent several days this week in Iowa, but said he does not plan to travel to New Hampshire.

A spokesman for former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the Mid-Atlantic co-chairman for Rudolph W. Giuliani, said Ehrlich is not visiting New Hampshire this weekend but does plan to travel on the former New York mayor's behalf later in the campaign.

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