Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. spent $2.15 million in the final two weeks of the campaign, according to a spending report filed Tuesday with the state.

Gov. Martin O’Malley’s final report hasn’t been posted yet. It had to be filed by midnight Tuesday and the state offices are closed today, so we’ll have to wait until Monday to get a peek. (I know, I know. How will we get through the Thanksgiving holiday without it?)

Most of Ehrlich’s dough, $1.6 million, was spent on ads, with another $245,000 on direct mail to would-be voters. Ehrlich also reportedly spent $14,000 with a political operative who said he sent the Election Day “relax” robocalls under investigation by Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler. (Kudos to The Washington Post for unearthing that first.)

Ehrlich also dished out about $63,000 in fundraising expenses during the reporting period, which covered Oct. 18 to Nov. 16. During that time, Ehrlich raised $710,000, including $20,000 he appears to have lent his own campaign. The loan came from a Robert Ehrlich in Timonium, according to the campaign finance database run by the University of Maryland’s Center for American Politics and Citizenship.

Based on his last four campaign finance reports, Ehrlich raised about $7.4 million for his rematch with O’Malley, and spent $7.2 million.

Or El Duderino, if you’re not into that whole brevity thing.

Just thought I’d pass along this shot of Gov. Martin O’Malley, fresh off his re-election campaign, with Jeff Bridges, who of course played The Dude in “The Big Lebowski.”

The unlikely pair (career pol/Irish rock band leader and an actor probably best known for playing a pot-smoking amateur bowler) were in D.C. yesterday at the National Press Club to talk about their efforts to end childhood hunger in the U.S. by 2015.

The Reliable Source blog at The Washington Post has more here.

Just one day earlier, O’Malley commemorated the second year anniversary of his own childhood hunger effort, the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland, in Annapolis. It, too, has a target date of 2015.

U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate robocalls made on Election Day that Democrats say were intended to suppress turnout in African-American communities.

“While I fully understand that campaigns can be rough and tumble, where candidates question and criticize their opponent’s record and judgment, some actions go beyond the pale and seek to intimidate voters,” Cardin said in a statement Thursday. “We must take action when entities deliberately use deceptive practices to marginalize and disenfranchise voters.”

The Washington Post and TBD.com first reported the robocalls on Election Day, and a later TBD item said the calls came from a number in the 202 area code. Cardin said voters in Baltimore City and elsewhere around the state received the calls.

In the calls, a woman’s voice tells voters to “relax.”

“Governor O’Malley and President Obama have been successful,” the voice said. “Our goals have been met. The polls were correct … and we’re OK. Relax, everything is fine. The only thing left is to watch on TV tonight. Congratulations and thank you.”

The mystery robocaller was mostly right. O’Malley walloped former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich by a 14-point margin, the largest reported in polls leading up to the election.

You can listen to the robo call in the player below:

With just three precincts left to report, developer David Cordish looks to have won the high-profile, multimillion-dollar contest to build a casino in Anne Arundel County.

Nearly 56 percent of voters said “Yes” to the zoning Cordish needs to move forward with his plans to build a slots parlor with 4,750 games next to the Arundel Mills shopping mall, and 44 percent voted against it.

The actual totals, with 98.5 percent of the precincts in, were 103,263 in favor and 82,008 against.

The pro-slots groups in Anne Arundel County are maintaining their lead as the results roll in.

With 79 of 197 precincts reporting, 56 percent of voters said “Yes” to the zoning developer David Cordish plans to build the state’s largest casino next to the Arundel Mills shopping mall.

There were 46,784 “Yes” votes cast to 36,841 “No” votes.

In a short victory speech Tuesday night, Gov. Martin O’Malley returned to many of his recurring campaign themes, telling a raucous crowd the state has the opportunity to emerge from the economic downturn leading the new economy.

“I believe we’re on the cutting edge of two decades of creating and healing, and discovering opportunities which our grandparents never would have imagined if we can work together,” O’Malley said, backed by a crowd of current and former Democratic elected officials and cabinet secretaries.

“I want to thank the people of Maryland. I want to thank the people of Maryland for their hard work, for their hope, for their resilience,” O’Malley said.

He spoke for a little more than 12 minutes on the third floor of the Visionary Art Museum, drawing rounds of applause, chanting and cheers from the crowd.

But O’Malley also cautioned his supporters against unbridled optimism and touched on the budget cuts made during his first term, specifically the furloughs taken by state employees.

“We are going to have a lot of tough days ahead of us. We are not out of the deep hole that our country’s economy was driven into,” he said.

O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the governor received congratulatory calls from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, but has not yet heard from his challenger, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich.

Democratic revelers are eagerly awaiting Gov. Martin O’Malley at the Visionary Art Museum after the Associated Press called the race for the incumbent.

“Thank your for sending Martin O’Malley back to Annapolis for four more years,” said Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, warming up the crowd.

A large crowd of Democratic officials had gathered on the stage, clapping along to the music pumping into the room along with clips of President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton praising the work O’Malley did during his first term.

The Democratic bigwigs on stage included Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, who skated to a second term unopposed; Secretary of Business and Economic Development Christian Johansson, labor Secretary Alexander M. Sanchez, Secretary of State John McDonough, state Sen. Catherine Pugh, and Dels. Kumar P. Barve, Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg and Brian McHale.

Early voting returns gave O’Malley a boost early in the night, propelling him to a 63-36 lead over Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. as the Election Day returns began to trickle in.

“It’s a good night,” Sanchez said before weaving through crowd to the stage on the third of the museum on Baltimore’s waterfront.

With just five precincts in, supporters of building the state’s largest casino in Anne Arundel County are leading at the polls.

With just five of the 197 precincts reporting, the ballot measure is 55 percent Yes, 45 percent No — good news for developer David Cordish, who plans to build the casino if the ballot measure wins approval.

Those are early — very early — numbers. So stay with us through the night and well post new totals as they roll in.

Most counties have reported their early voting totals, and Gov. Martin O’Malley has the early lead, 56 percent to 42 percent.

O’Malley has 76,963 votes, and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., 57,704.

Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, both strong O’Malley bases, haven’t reported their early totals. But neither has Harford County, an Ehrlich stronghold. Caroline County has also not yet reported early voting totals.

Update 8:45 p.m.

With all 24 jurisdictions reporting early voting returns, O’Malley leads 137,397 to Ehrlich’s 77,979. That’s a 63-36 margin. But, as you may remember, there was actually voting conducted today. Stay tuned for those results throughout the night.

Supporters of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. are slowly filling the exhibition hall on the state fairgrounds in Timonium as they await the first voting results of the night in the Maryland governor’s race.

Ehrlich communications director Henry Fawell said Ehrlich’s team has heard conflicting reports about the turnout today at the polls.

“We hear there’s high turnout in Harford, low in Baltimore [County], but then an hour later, we hear the exact opposite,” said Fawell, referring to counties Ehrlich will have to lean heavily on if he is to prevail in his rematch with Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Based on his conversations with campaign staffers monitoring exit polls, Fawell said he has “reason for cautious optimism.”

But the first numbers of the night could leave Ehrlich chasing his Democratic rival. Democrats outvoted Republicans by about 2-1 during the early voting period.

“When you’re a Republican, it’s a high-wire act,” Fawell said. “You expect that going in.”