Pappas Enters 2010 Gop Governor's Race

"What was perhaps fantastic a few months ago has become a lot more real for people who were skeptical," said campaign manager John Fiastro, who ran for House of Delegates in 2002 when he was a student and waiter and tied for eighth place in a Baltimore County primary.

To be sure, any Republican would face long odds in a statewide race in Maryland, a political reality that even Ehrlich readily admits. Democrats outnumber Republicans two-to-one in the state, and the Democratic machine is far more organized and monied.

But Pappas and his advisers point to the 1994 campaign of Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey as a blueprint. Even though she had been a state lawmaker for 16 years, she began her campaign against the Democratic nominee, Prince George's County Executive Parris N. Glendening, with just 3 percent name recognition among Maryland voters. She nearly beat him, losing by fewer than 6,000 votes. Supporters also note that Sauerbrey jumped into the race before the presumptive GOP front-runner, Helen Delich Bentley, and ran on a platform of smaller government.

The comparisons may end there. Sauerbrey was a conservative who became defined - and, some would say ,was sunk - by her anti-abortion stance.

Pappas has not laid out his policy stances but says he leans more libertarian than strict social conservative. "Personally, I don't want the state in my house, in my bedroom, or in my doctor's office," he said.