Hogan steps back, a departing senator wants new leadership, and a delegate is going after the House leader. Whether the party is worse off than in 2022 is a harder question than the loudest critics suggest.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
Days after another lopsided night for Maryland Republicans, the party’s internal argument is no longer happening quietly. Two Republicans have announced they will run against the chair, and others are weighing bids. A retiring state senator wants new leadership at the top. A House delegate is calling on her own caucus leader to step down. And the party’s most famous former governor says he is done helping those who will not listen.
Chair Nicole Beus Harris, the wife of Rep. Andy Harris and elected to lead the Maryland Republican Party in December 2022, has said little in public. That silence is now part of the story.
What critics are saying
State Sen. Chris West, a Republican who is leaving office, told FOX45 on Nov. 5 that the party should change course and recruit candidates who can win statewide. He said the party’s operations deserve a thorough review and that new leadership is needed at the top. He also faulted the party for renominating Dan Cox for governor, arguing it should have picked someone with a better chance. In his words, the party must decide whether it “wants to lose in the future or win.”
Others are aiming at different targets:
- Del. Lauren Arikan of Harford County, a Freedom Caucus member, called on House Minority Leader Jason Buckel to step down. According to The Baltimore Sun, she argued that House leadership did not adequately support Dels. Stuart Schmidt and Barry Beauchamp, who both lost their seats.
- The Sun also reported that there have been calls for Harris to step down. Its report did not name who made them. The Banner has since reported the effort to oust her, and the challengers above are the first to put their names to it.
- Political analyst Roger Hartley told FOX45 a new chair could help shift the party’s message and culture, but said leadership change alone will not fix the problems. He said Republicans have to compete beyond rural counties, noting that Democrats have been organizing in rural areas.
Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. offered a different diagnosis. As the Sun reported, he blamed a national environment that favored Democrats.
A challenge takes shape
Harris was elected chair in December 2022 and won a second two-year term at the party’s November 2024 convention. Her term runs through Jan. 2, 2027, so the December vote is about whether she gets a third.
The Baltimore Banner reported Nov. 12 that two candidates have announced challenges to Harris and that others are weighing their options. The chair election is scheduled for the state party’s December convention, which FOX45 put at Dec. 12.
- Adam Wood is a former executive director of the party. The Banner reported he was pushed out of that job when he ran for a Baltimore County state Senate seat, then lost the primary. FOX45 reported he announced on Election Day. Of the challenge, he told the Banner, “It’s not necessarily a knock on anybody in particular.” FOX45 said he blames a messaging problem and a bad year, and wants district-specific strategies.
- Yahu Blackwell also lost a Baltimore County Senate race. He says the party needs a rebrand and told the Banner he got “zero support” from the state party.
- Kim Klacik, the WCBM host and 2020 congressional nominee, told FOX45 she is “strongly considering” a run. She called the state party “non-existent.”
The Banner also cited a “draft Gordana” website for 2022 lieutenant governor nominee Gordana Schifanelli. She lives in Florida, according to MDBayNews reporting. She told MDBayNews she is not a candidate, is not a member of the Republican Party, and has no connection to the site.
FOX45 also mentioned Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano, who lost her seat this month, and Terry Hanley, chief of staff to Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly, who is reportedly calling members for support. Neither commented to the station. Neither the Banner nor FOX45 reported whether Harris will seek a third term.
Hogan steps back
Larry Hogan’s comments drew the most attention, but they were not an attack on Harris. Speaking to reporters Nov. 5 at the Ronald Reagan Center on Civility and Democracy in Washington, the former governor said he is stepping back from rebuilding efforts and is focused on mentoring young leaders at Washington College, where he teaches. He said he owes nothing more to people who “aren’t paying attention to me or listening,” according to the Sun.
He also declined to take a side in the fight over who should lead the state party. He dismissed the Maryland disputes as small potatoes and said the national party needs to focus on the problem. He added that Republicans could still compete statewide with a coalition built around economic issues, though he said he does not see a candidate on the horizon who can do it. The Sun’s report did not include any comment from Harris, and Hogan did not address her directly.
Separately, Hogan told FOX45 the results were a wake-up call because Republicans were out of touch with what voters care about. He urged elected officials to spend less time on social media and more time meeting constituents.
The chair’s response
Harris has not engaged the critics directly. She told the Banner in a written statement that the party will assess its results once the count is finished. She told FOX45 on Nov. 5 that her “policy is not to discuss internal Maryland Republican Party matters with the press.” She added that the party was focused on the ballot canvass and on making sure every legal vote is counted.
On Nov. 10, FOX45’s Spotlight on Maryland reported she went further. After a social media post drew interview requests, Harris emailed party leaders, telling them internal business should stay internal and arguing that public division would help Democrats. She then sent a one-question survey asking members whether the party should build a better relationship with the public rather than become news drama. A spokesperson said party leadership agreed that speaking to the media “was not appropriate or productive.”
Supporters of that approach would say it is ordinary discipline in a week when ballots are still being counted. Critics would say a party that just lost every statewide race has a bigger problem than leaks.
Is the party worse off than in 2022?
That is the claim some Republicans are making in private and online. The public numbers do not settle it, and some of them cut the other way.
- Governor: Cox received 674,446 votes, or 31.00 percent, in unofficial results updated late Nov. 12, compared with about 644,000 votes and 32.12 percent in 2022. His total rose by 30,446, but Wes Moore gained 112,869 votes over his 2022 total. The Democratic margin grew from 649,944 votes to 732,367. Republican support grew in raw numbers, but not as fast as Democratic support, with the same nominee on the ballot both times.
- Senate and county offices: Republican Sen. Bill Folden conceded his Frederick County District 4 seat to Democrat Lara Westdorp on Nov. 7, according to the Banner. In Wicomico County, Republican Executive Julie Giordano lost to Democrat Ernie Davis, 14,757 votes (51.1 percent) to 14,125 (48.9 percent), as WBOC reported.
- House of Delegates: Republicans held 39 of 141 House seats earlier this year, according to Maryland Matters. Schmidt and Beauchamp lost, and final counts are not in.
- Money: The Banner reported the state GOP campaign fund spent about $176,000 during the primary season through mid-October, while the Democratic Party’s fund spent more than triple that. That compares party funds only, not every committee on either side.
- Registration: The Banner reported Republicans lead unaffiliated voters by only about 1,900, with unaffiliated voters on track to pass them. State Board of Elections reports show 993,546 active Republicans in July 2022 and 1,014,245 in August 2026, a gain of about 20,700. Total registration grew by about 181,000 over the same stretch, so the Republican share slipped from about 24.0 percent to 23.5 percent. Democratic registration fell by about 19,500, and its share dropped from about 54.1 percent to 51.4 percent.
- The party’s own account: In a Nov. 26, 2024 release, the Maryland Republican Party said registration had risen by more than 25,000 since January 2023 and that nearly all of its debt had been eliminated. Those are the party’s claims. Its state finance reports, not its news releases, will show where the books stand now.
The fair reading is that the party has not collapsed since 2022, but it also has not grown into a competitor. Whether that makes Harris the problem, or simply the person holding the gavel in a bad year, is exactly what the critics are arguing about. Neither side has made the case with hard numbers yet.
What to watch
- Nov. 17: Post-general campaign finance reports are due at the State Board of Elections. They should show what the state party raised and spent this cycle.
- Canvass and certification: Final counts will settle the House of Delegates and county races still in doubt.
- The December convention: FOX45 reported the party will pick its leadership team Dec. 12. Watch whether Harris seeks a third term, whether Klacik formally enters, and who the state central committee members line up behind.
- Nov. 22, the nomination deadline: Under the party’s bylaws, as amended Nov. 23, 2024, nomination forms are due 20 calendar days before the convention. If the convention is Dec. 12, that puts the regular deadline at Nov. 22. Late nominations are disqualified under the regular process, though the bylaws allow nominations from the floor by a two-thirds vote. In 2022, a filing dispute over that kind of deadline ended one candidacy before the vote.
- House caucus: Arikan’s call for Buckel to step down puts a second leadership question in front of Republicans.
Sources: FOX45 (WBFF), Mikenzie Frost, “Election results spark questions over Maryland GOP strategy,” Nov. 5, 2026. The Baltimore Sun, Tinashe Chingarande, “Larry Hogan says he has no obligation to help Maryland GOP if members won’t listen,” Nov. 5, 2026, as republished by FOX45 and Yahoo News. FOX45 Spotlight on Maryland, Gary Collins, “Moore effect?: Democrats, Republicans reject claim Wes Moore helped flip seats,” Nov. 10, 2026. Maryland State Board of Elections unofficial 2026 general election results (Nov. 12), Voter Registration Activity Report, July 2022, and voter registration statistics, August 2026. Maryland Matters, coverage of the House expulsion resolution, April 2026. Maryland Republican Party news release, Nov. 26, 2024. The Baltimore Banner, “Maryland’s Republican Party is broken. Where does it go from here?” Nov. 12, 2026. FOX45 (WBFF), “‘Strongly considering’: Kim Klacik eyes Maryland GOP chair, torches direction,” Nov. 2026. Maryland Matters, “Schifanelli bows out of GOP chair race after filing documents missed deadline by an hour,” Nov. 22, 2022. Maryland Republican Party news release, Dec. 15, 2025. Maryland Republican Party bylaws, amended Nov. 23, 2024. WBOC, Wicomico County executive results, Nov. 2026.
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