What does the future hold for Baltimore and Maryland? Recently the American population topped 300 million and is still climbing. Experts describe a future where most residents live on the coasts — crowded, with traffic congestion an ever-present problem.

Like it or not, that’s what the future seems to hold. But on Election Day 2006, the future is now. Today, no matter who you vote for, you are deciding the future of Baltimore and of the entire state.

This election will have an enormous impact on both sides. For Republicans, it’s a chance build on Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s last victory, unseating the Democrats to lead Maryland — and maybe even add another senator. Democrats look to re-establish control not just in the General Assembly, but in the governor’s mansion.

That’s the Xs and Os. Now, the dollar signs. The Apostle Paul is often quoted as saying “the want of money is the root of all evil.” Well, no one wants your money more than a politician does. All four top candidates care deeply about the future of Baltimore and Maryland. How deeply will they go into your wallet?

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Both candidates for governor —Ehrlich and Baltimore’s Democratic Mayor Martin O’Malley — now agree the state needs slot machines to help save the billion-dollar racing industry and its thousands of jobs.

O’Malley is new to this party. Last year, he called the very idea of slot machines “morally bankrupt.” Given the opposition to slots from other Democrats, it’s a fair question whether O’Malley would deliver on a funding mechanism he questions.

Ehrlich, on the other hand, has battled House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, to save racing and bring in up to $800 million per year by allowing slots. Would a second term give him time to ride herd on Busch and the legislature to get this passed? Or would failure nag him again?

In the Senate race, Rep. Ben Cardin, D-3rd, has admitted he opposes tax cuts. Yet in the three years since the most recent cuts, we’ve seen 6.6 million new jobs and positive job growth every single month. Cardin also has been strong in his support of alternative energy, but opposes drilling in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — keeping oil supplies low and gas prices high.

Cardin’s opponent, Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, has run a stronger race than many expected. While his support of traditional GOP positions has been all over the map, Steele has opposed taxes and even called for a temporary moratorium on the federal gas tax when prices got too high. Would either one of them have the spending discipline so rare in Washington?

Those are a few of the questions you have to decide today before you vote. Politicians know that money matters. On Election Day, they are reminded that your vote matters more.

Dan Gainor is a career journalist, media commentator and The Boone Pickens Free Market Fellow at the Media Research Center’s Free Market Project. He can be reached at gainorcolumn@gmail.com.