WASHINGTON — Texas Gov. Rick Perry is messin’ with Maryland.
In commercials set to begin airing in the D.C. region this week, Perry targets businesses and families with a message of lower taxes.
“When you grow tired of Maryland taxes squeezing every dime out of your business, think Texas, where we’ve created more jobs than all the other states combined,” Perry, a Republican, says in the commercial.
He describes the Lone Star State as a place with limited government, low taxes and a fair legal system.
But the ads are more than a friendly invitation. He also takes a shot at Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat.
“Unfortunately, your governor has made Maryland the tax and fee state, where businesses and families are paying some of the highest taxes in America,” says the one-time presidential hopeful.
Similar ads have already targeted California, Illinois, Missouri, New York and Connecticut.
Maryland will be the sixth state to hear from the Texas governor. His office vows to continue sharing that state’s economic success story around the country.
O’Malley calls it a PR stunt.
In a statement released Tuesday, he responded by highlighting Maryland’s own achievements.
“Maryland has had the No. 1 public schools in the nation for five years in a row,” he says.
“Since 2007, we’ve done more than any other state to hold down the cost of college tuition. We’re No. 1 in median income,” he says.
O’Malley’s statement concludes with a small jab of its own.
“Gov. Perry should come to Maryland to see firsthand the better choices that have led to these better results,” he says.
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