ANNAPOLIS – George Bush and Dan Quayle are stepping up to the plate to help Republican Ellen Sauerbrey fuel her gubernatorial bid in Maryland.
Bush was the attraction Friday at a fund-raising breakfast for Sauerbrey at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Tysons Corner, Va. The breakfast of fruit, croissants, coffee and orange juice cost $1,000 a plate. For $3,000 more, attendees could get their photo taken with the former president.
Quayle will be in Annapolis at the Loews Hotel on Tuesday night for a Sauerbrey fund-raising reception. For $125, contributors will be served hors d’oeuvres and given a chance to meet the former vice president; another $375 will get them a picture with the Indiana Republican.
The GOP heavyweights were tapped in an effort to help Sauerbrey in her quest to oust Democratic Gov. Parris N. Glendening. Sauerbrey lost to Glendening in the 1994 general election by about 6,000 votes.
“We’re pleased to get all the help we can get,” said Sauerbrey campaign spokeswoman Anne Hubbard.
The breakfast with Bush was attended by more than 250 people and raised more than $350,000, Hubbard said.
The Quayle event is expected to attract about 200 people and raise about $50,000, she said.
Sauerbrey had already raised more than $3.6 million for her campaign, compared to Glendening’s $4 million-plus, spokesmen for each said.
Glendening’s campaign spokesman, Len Foxwell, said Bush and Quayle’s appearances for Sauerbrey were not of great concern.
“This campaign is not about Bush or Quayle,” Foxwell said. “It’s about Ellen Sauerbrey being an extreme, right-wing Republican.”
Foxwell said Glendening is focusing on smaller fund-raisers throughout the state that would allow the governor to meet with supporters one-on-one.
Glendening had scheduled a fund-raiser for Oct. 2 with President Clinton, but canceled it earlier this month, shortly after Clinton admitted to an “inappropriate relationship” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Glendening also canceled an appearance with Clinton at a Silver Spring school, but Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend went in the governor’s place.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will attend a fund-raiser with Townsend in early October, Foxwell said.
Other national GOP figures expected to lend a hand to Sauerbrey include Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former Tennessee governor and education secretary Lamar Alexander, Hubbard said.
During the Sauerbrey/Bush breakfast Friday, the former president spoke for close to 10 minutes about the importance of the governor’s job and about his two sons’ experiences as governor of Texas and as a gubernatorial candidate in Florida. He also spoke briefly about some of the issues Sauerbrey is focusing on, such as her concerns over the business environment in Maryland, Hubbard said. -30-