Tales from the Trail

Former Alaska governor  Sarah Palin is throwing her support behind a relatively unknown Republican candidate in the race for governor of Maryland.

Maryland’s former governor, Republican Bob Ehrlich, has the backing of the party establishment.

But Palin, the Republican’s 2008 vice presidential candidate, is backing businessman Brian Murphy. She posted her endorsement on Facebook Wednesday.

“Brian is a pro-life, pro-Second Amendment commonsense conservative and a firm believer in the free market and the cause for energy independence. As a former energy industry executive and current small business owner, Brian has the private sector experience that is so lacking in government today,” Palin said.

Will Palin’s support help Murphy with Marylanders engrossed in the rematch between Ehrlich and the current governor, Democrat Martin O’Malley?  Only time will tell (See how Palin’s done so far on The Washington Post  Endorsement tracker).

Ehrlich is locked in a very close race to recapture the office he lost to O’Malley four years ago.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Sean Gardner (Palin at the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans)