The Maryland Republican Party has been marked by infighting and revelations of legal troubles and financial woes, prompting concerns from GOP loyalists that the drama will hurt any chances of a political comeback.
Top lawmakers have called on the party’s chairman to resign, and state election officials have told the cash-strapped party it needs to pay back $77,500 in illegally donated funds. Adding to the problems are accusations from federal prosecutors that a former party chairman committed fraud.
“It’s not helpful,” said Montgomery County Republican Central Committee Chairman Mark Uncapher, referring to the recent internecine squabbles at the party’s leadership levels.
“To the extent that any focus is on this kind of stuff … it’s hurting the party,” he said.
The party has struggled to find a foothold in the heavily Democratic state since the 2006 elections, when incumbent Gov. Bob Ehrlich lost to Democrat Martin O’Malley. Ehrlich’s victory in 2002 had revitalized a party that had been moribund for 50 years.
Democrats have strong majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly and outnumber Republicans 2-1 in the state.
Republicans say a worsening economy and growing government fiscal woes have been making the GOP more attractive to independent voters. But some members say they think the party may be squandering its opportunity.
“We do not feel that you have positioned the party to take advantage of the opportunities that have presented themselves as we approach the 2010 elections,” Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman and Senate Minority Whip Nancy Jacobs wrote to party Chairman James Pelura last week, asking him to resign.
The letter came days after Pelura fired the party’s executive director, Justin Ready, with little warning and for no apparent reason, prompting many of the party’s upper echelon to demand answers from Pelura.
Pelura declined to comment on why he fired Ready, and said he would discuss the matter only with party leaders at a meeting scheduled for later this week.
“There’s been way too much rumor, innuendo and people throwing stuff around,” he said.
Adding to GOP woes were revelations of legal and financial troubles:
» Unsealed court records show that federal prosecutors are accusing former state Republican Chairman John Kane’s moving company of committing fraud. Prosecutors said Kane, who was GOP chairman from 2002 to 2006, was told in 1998 and 2003 that his company was submitting false wage information to the government but did not act on that information. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
» The Maryland State Board of Elections found that the party has to pay $77,500 to Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor who now heads the national Republican Party. Election officials said they found violations of campaign finance laws, stemming from transfers between Steele’s campaign funds to the party’s. The party’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.
The hit to the party’s finances comes at a bad time. According to the latest publicly available report in January, the party had $57.96 in cash to put toward campaigns and was more than $57,000 in debt.
