How to Win Maryland

(This article is from an adjunct writer who does not forcibly represent the views of the National Alliance Foundation)


With deficits, soaring taxes, party corruption, and a sweeping wave year, it's genuinely shocking to some that Robert Ehrlich Jr. failed to pull it off in the Old Line State for 2010. Honestly though, the reality is more clear than even the most defeated GOP members would like to admit in the present day. Republicans in Maryland have failed to build true coalitions, instead leaning on pockets of temporary success while avoiding the grim reality that their vision is faulty, and their methods demeaning to the standards of the province's government friendly citizens.

Ehrlich won a fairly impressive victory in 2002, though his results are somewhat murky; he ran against an unpopular governor who divorced his wife to marry a young aide, as a lieutenant governor who could not seem to come out on her own feet to force a convincing message to the public. With the last ballots tallied, Ehrlich claimed the governorship by a measly 4%, hardly guaranteeing his return to Annapolis after four years. But the Princeton graduate faced greater challenges that this, especially considering his wishy washy stances on major issues in the Congress, and his unwillingness to be true to his core as the chief executive.

So a record of partial fiscal responsibility and lobbyist welcoming government helped him lose his job in 2006, when the mistake-plagued Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley, won more votes statewide. Fast forward four years: O'Malley is borderline unpopular, the economy is stalling, and Ehrlich is not running alongside George W. Bush, so why does the day end with his 14-point defeat? Largely because his campaign was so atrociously strung together, with no vision and a state party equally bankrupt of the virtuous principle.

Historically, the party has had this problem, with the last GOP governor prior to Ehrlich the categorically corrupt Spiro Agnew, who left office in 1969. In Maryland, a state where the party is out-registered 2-1, this might seem natural, yet even the states of New Jersey and California manage the occasional Republican governor or senator despite their true blue leanings around most election years. The problem is that Republican candidates have ever so frequently tried to repaint themselves as moderate-to-liberal instead of bringing voters from the other side into their turf. A number of stances could help sway Democrats to the GOP brand, as shown in the following.

• A pro-environmental stance on the eastern shore.
• Tax incentives to draw government contractors to the state.
• A longer session of the General Assembly coupled with a 15% decrease in legislator salaries. 
• Strong educational reforms in Prince George's County and Montgomery County to foster results that do not drop the state to the bottom nationwide. 
• Term limits for all assemblymen, and a ban on lobbying for the duration of the Assembly's session. 
• Proud pro-life candidates.
• Increased student loans with a drawback on state agencies in other areas. 

There is no way to guarantee where the next GOP governor or senator may arise from, yet wisdom dictates that it will likely be a representative from Baltimore County or perhaps even Prince George's County. The purpose of such a strategy would be to build up a strong coalition with African-American voters in those respective areas, after which the only major challenge would be to swing over blue collar white voters in southern Maryland. While Agnew may not be the best example to look at as a successful politician, he did manage to accomplish this by appealing to the immigrant bases in the area of the center state, eventually reaching the governor's mansion by a decent margin. 

Victory is not unreachable in Maryland; it is unlikely however if the party remains unable to unite under a common banner for the good of the state. Each GOP controlled office must be used to slowly chip away at the massive one-party machine, bringing about positive reform which will allow future candidates to have less struggle in gaining the trust of the Democratic majorities.  

Frank Ames

Adjunct Writer--The Red Maryland Network