In a state that prides itself on education, a whopping percentage of teachers are taking second jobs to make ends meet. Maryland has one of the oddest governor races in the nation. It’s an overwhelmingly blue state, according to registered voters, that nonetheless has Republican incumbent Larry Hogan leading the polls thanks to his reputation for bipartisanship. The day after Labor Day, Hogan announced the launch of three television spots — his first major ad forays into the general election. The focus in each of them? Education. “It’s easy to say, ‘Hey, wow, we’ve accomplished a heckuva lot,’” says Hogan in one spot, touting education funding increases and promising he isn’t done yet. The ad buy shows Hogan believes education will be a top priority for voters in November, as does his Democratic opponent, former NAACP President Ben Jealous, who has released plans to create universal pre-K, free community colleges and teacher salary raises of 29 percent. That’s not a bad bet: Education was by far the No. 1 issue in one poll released by progressive advocacy group Maryland Matters last December, with half of the voters surveyed saying too little was being spent on it. | 