Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler (D) told campaign volunteers last month that his Democratic opponent in the governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, was campaigning on his race rather than his record, the Washington Post reported Monday.
“I mean, right now his campaign slogan is, ‘Vote for me, I want to be the first African American governor of Maryland,’” Gansler (D) told the volunteers, as quoted by the Washington Post. “That’s a laudable goal, but you need a second sentence: ‘Because here’s what I’ve done, and here’s why I’ve done it.’”
An individual not affiliated with either candidate provided an audio recording of Gansler’s private July 15 meeting to the Post. Gansler’s campaign told the newspaper that it didn’t dispute the authenticity of the audio, but accused Brown’s team of illegally recording the meeting. Brown’s aides denied that accusation.
“If I had said these things on tape, I’d want to change the subject, too,” Brown’s campaign manager Justin Schall told the Post. “The Brown campaign had nothing to do with this. The only one responsible for Gansler’s comments is Doug Gansler.”
Brown, who already has the endorsement of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), launched his campaign in May, while Gansler wasn’t slated to formally announce his candidacy until September, according to the Post.
