These are especially trying times for Maryland Republicans.
They suffered crushing defeats in the most recent election. They are outnumbered and often sidelined in Annapolis. They are having trouble raising campaign cash. And internal tensions are simmering at the state party's headquarters.
But they also see an opportunity in this General Assembly session. There the GOP is honing a critique of Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal stewardship, and they are hammering topics such as rising electricity rates, driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and a proposed death penalty repeal, issues on which they see themselves as aligned with mainstream Marylanders.
To ensure that their voices are heard, Republicans have launched new caucus Web sites and put up pages on social networking sites such as Facebook and Flickr, taking a cue from the technology-driven campaign of President Barack Obama. They've also hit YouTube, where they posted the party's formal response to O'Malley's annual State of the State address.
Gaining ground is difficult in a state where there are two registered Democratic voters for every Republican, and Democrats have assembled a formidable party and campaign-finance operation. But some believe the faltering economy, a budgetary morass and other issues create an opening for Republicans.
"In Maryland, Democrats have gotten us to this point, and I'm convinced there's going to be this throw-the-bums-out mentality. I would be worried if I were an incumbent," said Doug Duncan, the former Montgomery County executive who dropped out of the 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Republicans are stressing "meat and potatoes" issues that matter to voters, particularly in areas outside Baltimore and the Washington suburbs, said former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who lost to O'Malley in 2006 but remains a party standard bearer. "There is a very strong moderate to conservative wing of the Democratic Party, and that hasn't changed," Ehrlich said. When those Democrats are unhappy, they tend to eschew party lines in statewide elections, he added.
If Republicans are wondering whether their message is being heard, the answer came recently in a handwritten note from O'Malley. It was addressed to Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, the House of Delegates' top Republican, who had delivered a harsh rebuke to the Democratic governor's State of the State address.
