County GOP defiant on election outlook

Event speakers upbeat on chances in November vote

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by JAY FRIESS Above, Del. Anthony J. O’Donnell addresses a group of Charles County Republicans at a reception held last week at the Southern Maryland Business Center in Waldorf. Right, Charles County school board member Collins Bailey, left, addresses a group of Charles County Republicans about his challenge to U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer for a seat in Congress, at the reception. Also pictured are Ed May, center, and Charles Lollar, chairman of the Charles County Republican Central Committee. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo

Gathering at the Southern Maryland Business Center in Waldorf, party members expressed hope that low poll numbers for Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and U.S. Congress as well as the shrinking margin between the presidential candidates could spell a victory for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in Maryland this fall.

‘‘I really believe McCain has got a good chance,” said Fred Davis, the county’s former Republican sheriff, who lost his seat to a tide of Democratic voters in 2006. Davis said he believes McCain could take Maryland, even if he fails to take Charles County.

Jim Thompson, a 2006 candidate for county commissioner, said this election could spur ‘‘an awakening of conservative values and fiscal responsibility.”

‘‘I feel Obama’s charisma is beginning to fade,” Thompson said. ‘‘That race is going to be a lot closer than people think. ... McCain might actually have a glimmer of hope.”

‘‘We have absolutely the best vehicle and the best philosophy,” declared Charles Lollar, chairman of the Charles County Republican Central Committee, to the gathering of more than 40 party faithful. With a minister’s cadence, Lollar exhorted them to fight for the Republican cause this fall ‘‘for the sake of the county.”

The group also heard from Mark Ellmore, the underdog GOP candidate seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va., 8th); Maryland House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert, St. Mary’s); and Charles County school board member Collins Bailey, who has challenged incumbent U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md., 5th).

Bailey noted that Congress has polled a 9 percent approval rating and joked, ‘‘That means I have a 91 percent approval rating.”

‘‘I think the people in America have had enough,” Bailey said. ‘‘People are tired of government as usual.”

State party leaders, while still optimistic, recognized the challenges facing Republican candidates this year. The McCain campaign has not made Maryland a high priority, and his state campaign chairman, Kevin Igoe, warned the group not to expect much national campaign support.

‘‘This bodes very, very well for the McCain campaign in Southern Maryland,” Igoe said, referring to his audience. But he said that Southern Marylanders need to ‘‘step up and lead this campaign” to raise money, erect large signs, write supportive letters to the media and man phone banks.

Referring to McCain campaign materials, he said, ‘‘There’s not going to be a lot of these flowing into Maryland nationally.”

According to statistics from the Maryland State Board of Elections, Democrats had out-registered Republicans in Maryland by a 2-1 ratio as of June, with 1.8 million voters declaring for the Democrats and 900,000 voters aligning with the GOP. Another 510,000 voters remain uncommitted to either party.

In Charles County, the GOP faces slightly kinder odds with nearly 43,000 voters aligning with the Democrats, nearly 25,000 voters standing with the Republicans and nearly 13,000 voters registered with other parties or registered independent, according to the elections board.

Jim Pelura, chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, played down the significance of the registration gap.

‘‘There are a lot of people registered Democrat who don’t think about political parties,” Pelura said, arguing that voters will make their decisions based on the candidates. ‘‘I’m very optimistic.”

When asked if McCain could take Charles County, Pelura paused for several seconds and then smiled.

‘‘The main issue in this campaign is going to be national security and the war on terror,” Pelura later asserted, noting that the issue was something all Marylanders care about. He then concluded, ‘‘I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didn’t think Maryland was worth it.”