Former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich hasn’t made up his mind whether a presidential run in 2016 is in his future. The fact that he has hinted at a run, though, has political pundits going public with opinions. Here are what five leading pundits have said about the 2016 GOP hopeful.
1. According to Towson University political analyst Richard Vatz, speeches are part of the reason that Ehrlich is now in the playing field of Republican candidates. Current Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is also on the list and Vatz says that "it would be an interesting showdown." He goes on to say that Ehrlich and O’Malley could both make viable vice presidential candidates.
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2. Josh Kurtz, a longtime political blogger in Maryland, says that Ehrlich is too much in the shadow of Mitt Romney to be a serious contender in future political arenas. According to Kurtz, Ehrlich didn’t even have the chops to become a political pundit in his own rite. Kurtz says, "While you’ve performed nimbly enough during your infrequent appearances on 'Hardball,' Michael Steele has cornered the market for has-been Maryland politicians on MSNBC."
3. Larry Sabato, founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, publishes rankings for the 2016 presidential candidates, and he stated that Ehrlich is a seventh-tier Republican candidate. Sabato cited no advantages for the former Maryland governor. Among disadvantages, Sabato stated it had been too long since Ehrlich was in the political limelight and that he lost twice to Democratic hopeful Martin O’Malley.
4. Jonathan Bernstein with the Bloomberg View, in an article commenting on Republican candidates for 2016, wanted to know why Ehrlich was still even on the list. Bernstein lumped Ehrlich in with former New York Gov. George Pataki.
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