During his term, he introduced legislation aimed at helping disabled people maintain employment and supported harsher gun violence penalties.

While Glendening had been reelected by a substantial margin in 1998, the final years of his term were plagued by a personal marital crisis, and a large state budget deficit.

The rural areas of Maryland – largely Republican – had long criticized Glendening for what they perceived as zealous environmental regulations; in addition, they believed that he did not give sufficient attention to their needs for infrastructure improvements (bridges, highways, etc.).

During the election, Townsend was criticized for her choice of running mate; she picked retired Admiral Charles R. Larson, a novice politician who had switched parties only a few weeks before.

Townsend's popularity continued to fall when it was reported that much of her campaign money was given by out-of-state donors; Ehrlich remained on the attack while the lieutenant governor's poll numbers declined.

The unemployment rate dropped significantly from 4.5% in 2003 to 3.9% in 2006, with an increase of 98,000 private sector jobs, aided by its proximity to the strong labor market associated with the national capital.

Ehrlich, after consulting with counsel regarding the legal validity of the bill, vetoed the proposed legislation as it would run afoul of federal law.

Critics of the international discount chain claimed that Wal-Mart's low wages force employees and their dependents to rely on state healthcare assistance.

The bill's supporters claimed that the veto showed Ehrlich, whose official biography describes him as "unapologetically pro-business," had sided with "big corporate interests rather than Maryland's working families.

[22] On July 7, 2006, the Maryland law was overturned in federal court by U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz, who ruled that the law violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974,[23] while also noting that it would "hurt Wal-Mart by imposing the administrative burden of tracking benefits in Maryland differently than in other states.

[30][31] Governor Ehrlich has guest lectured at Towson University in Professor Richard Vatz's political persuasion class twice a year since 1993.

[34][35] In June 2010, Ehrlich was endorsed by Terrapin basketball standout and Memphis Grizzlies NBA draft pick Greivis Vásquez.

His former lieutenant governor, then Chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele, traveled to Maryland on his "Fire Pelosi" bus tour to endorse Ehrlich.

In December 2011, Ehrlich's 2010 campaign manager, Paul E. Schurick, was convicted of four counts of fraud and conspiracy concerning a scheme to suppress the black vote using 112,000 fraudulent robocalls, which discouraged voters from going to the polls.

[42] After initially supporting John Kasich as a Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential primaries, Ehrlich endorsed nominee Donald Trump in May 2016.

[43] As of December 2020, Ehrlich was working as senior counsel in the Washington office of King & Spalding, a major corporate law firm, on the governmental advocacy and public policy (lobbying) team.

[47] Cox and Peroutka were defeated in a landslide by Democratic nominees Wes Moore and Anthony Brown in the general election on November 8, 2022.