By: Nicholas Sohr

Gov. Martin O’Malley didn’t waste any time after Tuesday’s primary election.

The Democrat incumbent bought airtime across the state for a TV and radio ad attacking the credibility and record of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. as the votes were still being tallied.

The ad (which we’ve had trouble embedding; click here to watch it) features clips of Ehrlich discussing raising fees during his term, but not taxes, mixed in with people criticizing the distinction.

In a clip the ad uses twice, Ehrlich tells a questioner, “There’s a big difference between fees and taxes.”

A series of quick shots of people saying “It’s a tax” are mixed in.

“If it comes out of my pocket, it’s a tax,” another woman says.

“Typical politician,” a man says near the end of the 30-second spot.

Taxes (and fees) have been used often by Ehrlich and O’Malley to club one another. Ehrlich has blasted O’Malley for overseeing the largest set of tax increases in the state in 2007, and has vowed to roll back pieces of that package, including a 1-cent hike in the sales tax. O’Malley has criticized Ehrlich for raising taxes and fees while greatly increasing state spending.

TBD.com looked into Ehrlich’s tax vs. fee defense and includes a video that appears to be used in the O’Malley ad. The Sun also touches on the topic in its breakdown of budgetary tactics used by Ehrlich and O’Malley.

Asked for a response to the ad, Ehrlich spokesman Andy Barth said O’Malley has been forced to run “negative ads” to distract from his own record over the last four years.

“Bob Ehrlich blocked the largest tax increase in Maryland history in 2004. Three years later, Martin O’Malley signed it into law, and he’ll raise taxes again if elected next year,” Barth said. “Bob Ehrlich has pledged that he will not raise taxes on hardworking Marylanders. Martin O’Malley refuses to make the same commitment.”

The ad ran in the Baltimore area, Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore, according to O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese. Ehrlich has run strong in Baltimore County — he was born in Arbutus and represented parts of the county in the state legislature and later in Congress. Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore are traditionally more conservative areas of the state.

Both Ehrlich and O’Malley won their primaries easily. Ehrlich had a tougher challenger in Brian Murphy, a former Constellation Energy commodities trader who ran to the right of his better-known opponent. Ehrlich won with a 75-25 margin, according to unofficial results. O’Malley took 86 percent of the vote on the Democratic side.