'We need to recruit more diverse candidates': Maryland GOP chairman Dirk Haire on the future of the party

Maryland’s GOP celebrated in November as Gov. Larry Hogan won re-election — just the second time in state history a Republican governor was elected to another term.

But the party had trouble in down-ballot races, losing re-election campaigns by Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman, a moderate Republican seen by many as best positioned for a gubernatorial run after Hogan’s term ends; and Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, seen as another possible successor to Hogan.

The election results mean that in 2019 Democrats will hold the top job in seven of Maryland’s eight largest jurisdictions, seven of eight congressional seats, and super-majorities in both the state Senate and the House of Delegates. Both U.S. senators, the Maryland attorney general and state comptroller are all Democrats, too.

In the wake of Hogan’s victory, the Maryland Republican Party re-elected as chairman Dirk Haire, an Anne Arundel resident and partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild. He was unopposed.

The Baltimore Sun interviewed Haire last week at the paper’s Port Covington headquarters. These questions and answers have been edited for space and clarity.

Q: In your view, what is the current state of the Republican Party in Maryland?

A: I think it’s terrific. Obviously, we re-elected a Republican governor for the first time since the 1950s and only the second time in history. We were obviously hoping to pick up more seats in the state Senate, but Maryland is the only state in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic where the Republican Party both won the governor’s race and also picked up seats in one house of the legislature. (The GOP gained one seat in the Maryland Senate.)

Q: But there were some notable losses, too. There’s been some talk that the Republican bench was wiped out.

A: I kind of chuckle. I read a comment from some Democrat who said we were wiped out for a generation. I was a little perplexed at that. Allan Kittleman and Steve Schuh are terrific guys. I’m very disappointed they lost. But those two and Governor Hogan are all around 60 years old. We didn’t lose a generation. We lost, sadly, a couple of middle-aged white guys. What we did do ... if you look just the county elections, 42 Republican women won county races.

Q: Which county-level seats are you referring to?

A: County councils, orphans court, state’s attorney, a couple of treasurers.

More