"Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening has been almost invisible while his fellow Democrat and political partner of eight years, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, has campaigned to succeed him.</br></br>But starting this week, he will be reappear, courtesy of Townsend's Republican opponent, Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Ehrlich unveiled a television ad yesterday that prominently features Glendening, a move clearly intended to exploit the governor's eroding popularity.</br></br>The spot opens with Glendening saying: ""Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and I are proud of our record. We're very proud of our record."" A voice-over follows, describing the state's $1.7 billion budget deficit, its troubled criminal justice system, and a recent failure to complete background checks for some gun owners.</br></br>""Bob Ehrlich is a candidate who started his campaign on a negative note, who has stayed negative the entire campaign and who is getting nastier and nastier as we get close to Election Day,"" said Peter Hamm, a Townsend spokesman.</br></br>Hamm added, ""If Bob Ehrlich thinks he's running against Parris Glendening, he's going to be very surprised when he loses to Kathleen Kennedy Townsend next Tuesday."""