Campaign Manager

The number was untraceable - almost. On Election Night in 2010, The Baltimore Sun's switchboard lit up with reports of a suspicious "robocall": it told voters to relax, that President Obama and Gov.Martin O'Malley had been successful, and that there was nothing left to do but wait for the results. Those who called us said they believed the call was a trick to keep Democratic voters home, and one person provided the number from their caller ID. Naturally, The Sun wanted to know who was behind the call; Democrats including Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake immediately had tried to pin it on former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign, but his camp vehemently denied it and the Republican party was calling for an investigation.

Prosecutors want the jury deciding the fate of political consultant Julius Henson to focus on one piece of evidence: the robocall he orchestrated on Election Day 2010 that told Democrats in Baltimore and Prince George's County to "relax" and stay home. That call — which prosecutors say Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign used in an attempt to suppress black votes — is the "primary evidence in the case," said Maryland State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt during opening statements Tuesday.

Anticipating that opponents of same-sex marriage will succeed in forcing the recently passed Maryland law allowing gay couples to wed to referendum, its supporters have hired a political veteran to lead the charge to uphold the measure. Josh Levin, who has led congresional campaigns and served in former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign, has signed up to be the new campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the group announced Wednesday. He replaces Sultan Shakir, who will become the group's political director.

Not everything in Tuesday's primary election came in by deadline for the print edition of The Sun . Here's a look at few races that didn't make today's story . - Republican Daniel Bongino beat Richard J. Douglas in the Senate primary by nearly 9,000 votes, unofficial results show. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, got into the race early and ran an aggressive grassroots campaign. Douglas, a former Pentagon official with an impressive military and legislative background, was never really able to catch up in support or fundraising.

For Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, campaigning in Maryland on Tuesday represented something of a political homecoming. It was nearly 20 years ago that Gingrich, then a Georgia congressman, hatched the outlines of the "Contract with America" during a GOP retreat in Salisbury — a campaign pledge that gave his party control of Congress in 1994 and made him a force in American politics. The former Speaker of the House came to Maryland looking for another political coup: a path to the Republican nomination that by the end of the day seemed increasingly out of reach.

Corrected: This item was updated to reflect that that the state disclosure form does not require an officeholder to disclose the amount of income received from outside employment.    A former Bush administration official with political ties in Maryland has filed a formal ethics complaint against Democratic state Sen. Rob Garagiola for failing to disclose income he received as a lobbyist on state disclosure forms. Garagiola has come under fire from Democratic opponent John Delaney in the 6th Congressional District primary race for failing to disclose the income he received from 2001-2003 while working at Washington firm Greenberg Traurig.

Democratic House candidate John Delaney is up with the first negative television advertisement in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, taking to voters a feud with state Sen. Rob Garagiola that to date has mostly played out on the blogosphere. "He's not telling the truth," the ad's narrator says as black and white pictures of Garagiola flash across the screen. "He's hiding that he lobbied for five years, failed to legally disclose nearly $200,000 in lobbying fees, even lobbied to undermine health care reform.

John Delaney, the Potomac financier running for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, is worth between $51.8 million and $232 million, which would make him the 9th most wealthy member of Congress if elected, according to a financial disclosure statement released by his campaign Friday. Delaney, who runs a Chevy Chase bank called CapitalSource, also drew more than $1 million in earned income last year, according to the form, which he is required to file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives next week.

They have bickered over their backgrounds, their political allegiances and who is the bigger “insider.” Now, the two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Maryland's most competitive congressional contest this year are battling over who is the most -- and least -- transparent.  The latest shot came this week from businessman John Delaney who pointed out that his opponent, State Sen. Rob Garagiola, failed to note his income as...

The election fraud trial of veteran political consultant Julius Henson has been postponed again due to scheduling conflicts. A hearing on preliminary motions in the case, which centers on an Election Day 2010 robocall, is now scheduled for April 10 with the trial expected to start on April 30. The case was postponed earlier this month because of the illness of a state investigator. Henson, 62, faces two counts of conspiracy to violate election laws, one count of election fraud and one count of failing to include a campaign authority line on the call.