This article was republished with permission from 草莓传媒’s news partners at .聽Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from 草莓传媒鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for today.
Gordana Schifanelli, the Republican who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor this year, has been thwarted in her bid to become chair of the state party. The GOP鈥檚 current leader claimed her nominating paperwork arrived an hour late.
Republican leaders from around the state will gather in early December to elect a new chair, three vice-chairs and a secretary. Schifanelli, a Queen Anne鈥檚 County lawyer who ran on a ticket headed by Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick), planned to run for state chair on a slate dubbed the 鈥淯nity Team.鈥�
In a series of social media posts on Tuesday, she bluntly rejected outgoing Chair Dirk Haire鈥檚 claim that the slate filed its paperwork an hour late. She said the only requirement in the party鈥檚 bylaws is that nomination paperwork be filed within 30 days of the vote, a condition she insists was met.
鈥淢D GOP blocked the nomination of excellent candidates citing some arbitrary 5 p.m. deadline nowhere to be found in the current By Laws鈥�,鈥� she wrote. Schifanelli then suggested that the 5 p.m. deadline was 鈥渃reated to exclude outsiders.鈥︹��
In an email to party leaders, Haire said potential candidates had more than a month鈥檚 notice that nominations had to be in by 5 p.m. on Nov. 9. He noted that party regulations allow for people to be nominated from the floor at the upcoming GOP convention if two-thirds of the delegates approve, giving the Unity Team 鈥� and anyone else who missed the deadline 鈥� an opportunity to become viable candidates.
鈥淭here is also no legal ability for someone who files late to force themselves into the Nominations Committee report,鈥� Haire wrote. 鈥淸W]e have followed the same process as we have for decades, and the Nominations Committee has done their work and provided their reporting on who is eligible and timely filed.鈥�
Cox won the endorsement of former President Trump late last year, and that helped fuel a 9-point victory over former state Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz in the Republican gubernatorial primary. But Cox and Schifanelli were broadly criticized by party leaders 鈥� particularly Gov. Larry Hogan and Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford 鈥� for failing to craft policies and messaging needed to win over Democrats and independents.
Cox鈥檚 unsupported claims about the 2020 election were seen as a particular turnoff to the types of voters that Republicans need to be successful in Maryland. Democrats hold a two-to-one voter registration advantage here.
In a lengthy phone interview on Monday, Schifanelli came across as someone determined to challenge Haire鈥檚 ruling. She talked extensively about wanting to 鈥渞ejuvenate鈥� a state party that is 鈥渂roke,鈥� dominated by 鈥渙ld people,鈥� riven by 鈥渘epotism鈥� and 鈥渟hady deals,鈥� unable or unwilling to support office-seekers, and in desperate need of a rebranding. She spoke enthusiastically about broadening the GOP鈥檚 outreach to younger voters.
By Tuesday, however, she decided to fold her tent. 鈥淚 cannot help people who don鈥檛 want to help themselves,鈥� she wrote in an email.
With Schifanelli off the ballot, Republican Central Committee members who gather at the Maryland Live! Casino and Hotel in Hanover on Dec. 9 and 10 will have two choices for chair 鈥� Nicole Beus Harris, a political consultant and the wife of Rep. Andy Harris, and Tim Fazenbaker, a Baltimore County business executive who ran unsuccessfully for state delegate in District 6 this year, finishing fourth in a field of seven. Two years ago he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination to take on Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D).
Fazenbaker describes himself as a 鈥渢rue American鈥� who 鈥渉as seen first-hand how Socialist policies have destroyed鈥� his native Baltimore.
In an interview, he said the party needs to reach out to younger voters and people of color, and to invite them to shape the Republican Party to fit their outlook. In a news release, he said he would advocate for 鈥渁 community centered approach, stopping corporate welfare, preserving public lands, environmental responsibility, improving education and freedom of choice.鈥�
Fazenbaker said there is a perception within the party that Nicole Harris鈥檚 chief qualification for chair, an unpaid position, is that she is 鈥渢he wife of a congressman,鈥� an issue that could hurt the party鈥檚 efforts to broaden its outreach. 鈥淗er background, from what I know, is not as in-depth as, say, mine,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople have that right to question what has she done.鈥� He also said Andy and Nicole Harris are rarely seen 鈥渋n areas that aren鈥檛 solid red.鈥�
Nicole Harris declined to respond to an email request for an interview. Aides to the congressman did not respond to media inquiries over a two-day period.
