What to make of State and Local Results
What do we make of the state and local election results?
The Gubernatorial and Senatorial results were completely linked. I think both Governor Ehrlich and Lt. Governor Steele got caught up in the national morass, Steele much more so than Ehrlich. But I'll be honest, I can't make much sense of a lot of it. All of the trendline polling data indicated dead heats; not six and ten percent victories respectively. But to be fair, given the climate I'm not sure what more the Ehrlich and Steele campaigns could have done.
The Lt. Governor's campaign, particularly, was extremely well run. That is why Steele may be the next Republican National Chairman, one wonderful choice.
I think the Governor's campaign got undone by circumstances that could have been easily avoided. Some of the Republican base was turned off by the moderate policies of this administration, something that could not have been avoided. One of the other problems, believe it or not, dealt with the kangaroo court. With over 7,000 appointees serving at the pleasure of the Governor, a lot of people could not explain how only 300 or so at-will employees were replaced by this administration. That's not solely the reason, but it did not help. I'm not sure where the Governor goes from here; some people think a re-match or a Senate campaign in 2010 is imminent, but we'll have to see.
But the carnage went all the way down the line; even Howard and Wicomico Counties elected Democratic County Executives. I thought Howard County Councilman Chris Merdon would be a contender for the gubernatorial nomination in 2010, but he lost by a surprisingly large margin.
The legislative results was as much of a disaster as the state level. A lot of people heard about the 14/5 plan; the plan to win 14 seats in the House of Delegates, and 5 in the State Senate. We needed those numbers in order to sustain gubernatorial vetoes and, in the Senate, preserve the filibuster. I don't remember that being the negative 6/negative 2 plan. The state party was to ensure that the candidates and the resources were there to win, and it did not happen. A purge of party leadership is probably in order to provide a fresh outlook for the next four years.
Locally, I am pleased as punch that Nic Kipke has been elected. He and Steve Schuh will be good additions to our District 31 legislative team. We still will not know for a while how the State Senate race will play out with, as of this second, Shandrowsky holding a 198-vote lead.
As far as Don Dwyer goes, this was not unexpected. Dwyer's personality issues are well known. But I don't think Dwyer put in the effort to win. An insurgent challenger can win on sign-waving, as Dwyer did four years ago. But people expect more from their incumbent Delegates. People expect them to go door-to-door to discuss issues. People expect them to talk to them during parades and community events; they certainly do not expect incumbent delegates to waive from a pedestal in a pick-up truck in the Pasadena Thanksgiving Parade, as he did this past Sunday, like he was more important and more righteous than the constituents he represented. The fact of the matter is that Dwyer does not have a skill for interpersonal relations; he could not interact with the people. It explains the sheer number of bridges he has burned, even with people who were his most loyal supporters. And don't get me started on the number of people he tried to use and dispose of along the way. Dwyer made the choice not to put in the effort to win; that's his cross to bear.
At the County Executive level, I am completely unsurprised by what happened. Little differentiates Johnson and Leopold, both left-of-center candidates. The only difference between them was on personality, between the friendly Johnson and the loner Leopold. The voters did not have much of a choice on the issues, and the vote totals bear that out. Countywide, the only Republican to win a competitive race was our new Register of Wills Lauren Parker. It was surprising that the Sheriff's and State's Attorney races were so decisive
We have a lot of hard work to do in the next four years.
The Gubernatorial and Senatorial results were completely linked. I think both Governor Ehrlich and Lt. Governor Steele got caught up in the national morass, Steele much more so than Ehrlich. But I'll be honest, I can't make much sense of a lot of it. All of the trendline polling data indicated dead heats; not six and ten percent victories respectively. But to be fair, given the climate I'm not sure what more the Ehrlich and Steele campaigns could have done.
The Lt. Governor's campaign, particularly, was extremely well run. That is why Steele may be the next Republican National Chairman, one wonderful choice.
I think the Governor's campaign got undone by circumstances that could have been easily avoided. Some of the Republican base was turned off by the moderate policies of this administration, something that could not have been avoided. One of the other problems, believe it or not, dealt with the kangaroo court. With over 7,000 appointees serving at the pleasure of the Governor, a lot of people could not explain how only 300 or so at-will employees were replaced by this administration. That's not solely the reason, but it did not help. I'm not sure where the Governor goes from here; some people think a re-match or a Senate campaign in 2010 is imminent, but we'll have to see.
But the carnage went all the way down the line; even Howard and Wicomico Counties elected Democratic County Executives. I thought Howard County Councilman Chris Merdon would be a contender for the gubernatorial nomination in 2010, but he lost by a surprisingly large margin.
The legislative results was as much of a disaster as the state level. A lot of people heard about the 14/5 plan; the plan to win 14 seats in the House of Delegates, and 5 in the State Senate. We needed those numbers in order to sustain gubernatorial vetoes and, in the Senate, preserve the filibuster. I don't remember that being the negative 6/negative 2 plan. The state party was to ensure that the candidates and the resources were there to win, and it did not happen. A purge of party leadership is probably in order to provide a fresh outlook for the next four years.
Locally, I am pleased as punch that Nic Kipke has been elected. He and Steve Schuh will be good additions to our District 31 legislative team. We still will not know for a while how the State Senate race will play out with, as of this second, Shandrowsky holding a 198-vote lead.
As far as Don Dwyer goes, this was not unexpected. Dwyer's personality issues are well known. But I don't think Dwyer put in the effort to win. An insurgent challenger can win on sign-waving, as Dwyer did four years ago. But people expect more from their incumbent Delegates. People expect them to go door-to-door to discuss issues. People expect them to talk to them during parades and community events; they certainly do not expect incumbent delegates to waive from a pedestal in a pick-up truck in the Pasadena Thanksgiving Parade, as he did this past Sunday, like he was more important and more righteous than the constituents he represented. The fact of the matter is that Dwyer does not have a skill for interpersonal relations; he could not interact with the people. It explains the sheer number of bridges he has burned, even with people who were his most loyal supporters. And don't get me started on the number of people he tried to use and dispose of along the way. Dwyer made the choice not to put in the effort to win; that's his cross to bear.
At the County Executive level, I am completely unsurprised by what happened. Little differentiates Johnson and Leopold, both left-of-center candidates. The only difference between them was on personality, between the friendly Johnson and the loner Leopold. The voters did not have much of a choice on the issues, and the vote totals bear that out. Countywide, the only Republican to win a competitive race was our new Register of Wills Lauren Parker. It was surprising that the Sheriff's and State's Attorney races were so decisive
We have a lot of hard work to do in the next four years.
Labels: Anne Arundel, District 31, Maryland, Politics, Republican
posted by Brian Griffiths at 9:02 PM
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