Sen. John McCain is scheduled to arrive in Baltimore this evening for his first high-profile fundraising visit to Maryland since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, the latest foray by a presidential candidate mining the state's steady supply of campaign cash.
Tonight's reception at the Center Club downtown will be hosted by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and marks perhaps his most visible effort in McCain's behalf to date.
Political analysts don't expect McCain to fare well against Democrat Barack Obama in Maryland, where Democrats outnumber Republicans roughly 2-to-1. As usual, the state has been a significant supplier of campaign cash for candidates of both parties during the 2008 elections.
Marylanders have given $19.3 million to presidential contenders during the current cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Obama collected $8 million from the state, with about $5 million coming from the prosperous Washington suburb of Montgomery County, home to many lawyers, lobbyists and executives who do business with the federal government. He got about $800,000 from ZIP codes in Baltimore.
McCain took in $1.6 million through June, with $860,000 coming from Montgomery and $124,000 from Baltimore.
Ehrlich was an early supporter of former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, and most of his allies followed suit, including former Ehrlich finance chief Richard Hug, a member of the elite fundraising team for President Bush known as Rangers.
The Ehrlich allies, including his much-touted fundraising team, have slowly mobilized for McCain. Hug said in an interview yesterday that he and other Ehrlich supporters were firmly behind the Arizona Republican, despite rumblings to the contrary.
"If we weren't supportive of McCain, we wouldn't be doing this event," Hug said. "I think that speaks for itself."
Hug was raising money for Giuliani but donated $2,300 to McCain on May 16, according to the Federal Election Commission database. Another member of Maryland's McCain finance committee, J.W. Marriott Jr., is a member of the hotel-chain family that were major backers of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
There are no donations yet recorded to McCain from Ehrlich.
Neither Hug nor a campaign spokeswoman would disclose the expected tally from tonight's fundraiser, with tickets priced at the federal general election maximum of $2,300 for a photograph with the Arizona senator and $1,000 for regular admission.
