* Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich circulates a video message in which he says, "When you think about what we ran on and what we believe in, what we stand for, there's really one word that keeps coming back and it's, 'empowering people.' "
* When Michael Ascaridis gave Amy Blagojevich, daughter of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a $1,500 birthday gift in 2003, little did he know he was giving Judy Baar Topinka an even better present. Topinka, the Republican nominee, is now getting some mileage out of the incident, noting that Ascaridis' gift coincided with his wife getting a state job.
* Ohio Republican Ken Blackwell was a winner for a day earlier this month, trouncing Democrat Ted Strickland in a trap-shooting competition.
* Nebraska Democrat David Hahn has a quirky idea: "As governor I will establish a second capitol in western Nebraska where I will live and work as governor at least three months of every year in an effort to bring western Nebraska back into the political process."
Much more spam after the jump.
Photo via Flickr, from waterbottle.
Previous Editions: 7/14, 7/28, 8/8, 8/29 and 9/11
* Oklahoma Republican Ernest Istook has a musical radio ad in which he hits Governor Brad Henry for supporting in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. Other Western Democratic governors including Bill Richardson, Janet Napolitano and Kathleen Sebelius have supported similar bills and Republicans are hoping it will be their Achilles heel.
* On the flip side, Iowa Democrat Chet Culver is calling Republican Jim Nussle an extremist for saying he would have signed South Dakota's abortion ban, which only includes an exemption when the mother's life is at risk. Expect every pro-life politician to be asked about the South Dakota law this year.
* Massachusetts Republican Kerry Healey has found a way to simultaneously fix Bay state schools and cure insomnia: with a power point presentation outlining her education proposals. One of her ideas is to raise the mandatory age of attendance from 16 to 18.
* Speaking of Massachusetts, after a recent Democratic debate, Deval Patrick sent out a message criticizing Chris Gabrieli, but didn't mention former frontrunner Tom Reilly. That tells me Patrick thinks Reilly is finishing third in today's primary.
* Alaska Democrat Tony Knowles' new T.V. ads subtly question the qualifications of his GOP opponent, Sarah Palin, with this line: "I'm ready to hit the ground running."
