Election-night robocalls tied to company working on Ehrlich campaign

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 5, 2010; 10:55 PM

Julius Henson, a political operative who worked for former Maryland governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), took responsibility Friday for an anonymous election-night robocall in the state that suggested Democratic voters "relax" and stay home even though polls still were open.

Henson told reporters in Baltimore that Ehrlich, who lost Tuesday to Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), probably did not know about the call, which went to more than 50,000 voters. A spokesman for Ehrlich declined to comment.

Henson characterized the call as "counterintuitive," saying it actually was meant to inspire Ehrlich supporters to vote rather than keep O'Malley supporters home.

"The call was designed to have people who would have gone to vote for Bob Ehrlich to go out and vote for him," said Henson, a longtime Democratic operative hired this year by Ehrlich.