WASHINGTON – It’s a war of sorts between the states.
The governor of Texas is actively trying to steal away Maryland’s companies, and Wednesday evening the governors of both states went at it on CNN’s “Crossfire.”
Texas’ Gov. Rick Perry said the Lone Star State is already home to companies like Apple, eBay and Facebook, and Maryland’s Gov. Martin O’Malley fired back.
“We have great companies; Lockheed Martin, Under Armour, Marriott and others in Maryland.”
Perry, a Republican, interrupted: “And we’re recruiting them to Texas.”
To that, O’Malley, a Democrat, said: “You’re welcome to try.”
Throughout the program, the governors jabbed each other with statistics as if they were swords.
“We have the No. 1 median income in the country, you have the 25th median income,” O’Malley told Perry.
Perry hit back with a point about education.
“Our graduation rates are 86 percent in the state of Texas. Do you know what yours are in Maryland?”
O’Malley answered: “They’re improving”.
Perry said the answer was 83 percent. “That’s less than 86, governor,” Perry said.
The two men agreed that adding jobs in the private sector will help America grow, and despite their on-air bickering, ended the show with a handshake.
Watch the governors duke it out over jobs on CNN’s “Crossfire”:
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