Last week’s election of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey has some Howard County GOP leaders encouraged about their party’s chances in next year’s local contests.

After supporting Barack Obama for president in 2008, voters in both New Jersey and Virginia last week elected Republicans Chris Christie and Robert McDonnell, respectively, over their Democratic opponents.

“I think the results in Virginia and New Jersey certainly are encouraging for me,” said Trent Kittleman, a West Friendship Republican who is considering a run for county executive. “I just need to do some ground work, raise some funds.”

Kittleman, a top administrator in the state transportation department under then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich, said she will not make a final decision until next year.

Joan Becker, chairwoman of the Howard County Republican Central Committee, said she believes the next election will be a referendum on the economy, and voters will be very anti-incumbent in 2010.

“I do think when people are not happy, they do go to the ballot box,” she said.

But Donald F. Norris, chairman of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said debates over who will take the lead in 2010 are purely speculative.

Traditionally, it is difficult for Republicans to gain a majority here, said Norris, who lives in Columbia.

“Under normal circumstances in Howard County, the Republicans will almost always win the western district and there may be the possibility that another district may be up for grabs,” he said.

The GOP last controlled the county in the mid-1990s, when Republican Charles Ecker served as county executive and three of the five County Council members were also Republicans.

Now, the county executive and four of the five council members are Democrats, as are eight of the county’s 11 state lawmakers.

“The Republican Party in the county is pretty conservative,” Norris said. “It doesn’t fit the mold of the rest of the county.”
It would take a lot to unseat County Executive Kenneth Ulman, who in 2006 beat Republican Christopher Merdon by nearly 9 percent, Norris said.

“The economy could get worse rather than better,” he said. “That’s probably the only thing I can think of, short of some scandal.”

Although he has not formally filed, Ulman has said he plans to run for reelection. He declined this week to comment on a potential challenge except to say, "There will be plenty of time for politics next year." 

Kittleman is the widow of the late Sen. Robert Kittleman and stepmother of Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman, both longtime GOP stalwarts in Howard County.

“She’d be trading on her name and I don’t know that that would be enough to help her win county-wide,” Norris said.
State Del. Warren Miller, a Republican from Woodbine, called Kittleman a “breath of fresh air” who would provide pragmatic leadership in Howard County.

“After what I watched happen in New Jersey, she’s what our party needs at the top of the ticket,” he said.
Miller said he has seen a renewed energy in his party over the last year.

“From what I’ve seen, the volunteerism has grown and all of that works toward making the party effective at the polls,” he said. “It’s the grass-root initiative getting people excited about our candidates and I am seeing that excitement for the first time in a while.”

Kittleman is not the only Republican of stature considering a campaign next year in Howard County.

Dennis Schrader, of Columbia, a former County Council member and husband of former state Sen. Sandra Schrader, said he is seriously considering running again for the council.

The influence of last week’s elections remains to be seen, he said.

“The fact of the matter is local issues are local issues,” he said. “If I do decide to run, it would be because of making a difference at the local level.”

In addition, former state Del. Robert Flanagan, of Ellicott City, who served as Ehrlich’s transportation  secretary, said he also might run for the council.

“I think there’s a lot of people worried about the fact that government is at all levels being irresponsible about spending, and that we’re putting off liabilities to the future generation,” Flanagan said. “I think there’s many reasons to be hopeful for Republicans in Howard County.”

State Del. Gail Bates, a West Friendship Republican, said while her western district would likely swing to the right, results in the rest of the county are a toss-up.

“Howard County is a tough nut by and large for Republicans, I think,” she said. “We have a reasonably liberal electorate at least in the larger part of the county. ...  Our county has gone Republican in some ways. It is definitely doable.”

Michael McPherson, chairman of the Howard County Democratic Central Committee, said Virginia turning blue last year was unusual and can be attributed to more young voters than usual and the popularity of the presidential race.

Last week’s gubernatorial election was more typical, he said, adding that Howard County Democrats won’t take their stronghold for granted in 2010.

“If we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be fine,” McPherson said. “I don’t see any real problems in spite of this hoopla we hear from the other party.”

This article has been updated.

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