I don’t need to tell anyone hanging out in this establishment that 2014 was a bad, bad year for the Democratic Party in Maryland. Lost the governor’s race, lost a net 7 seats in the House of Delegates and 2 in the State Senate, and came within a whisper of losing CD6, as John Delaney squeaked out a win that wasn’t confirmed for several days after Election Night.
So the fact that the chair of the Party, Yvette Lewis, has decided to step down is not a surprise. The most interesting question is not simply who will replace Lewis, but who decides? Normally, this is the purview of the governor, but obviously that doesn’t work this year. Who will have the most influence? Barbara Mikulski is retiring, various congresscritters are considering running for Senate, leaving . . . . who?
Party chair is not a glamorous job, but it’s an important one. Fundraising, representing the party in public, and trying to keep everyone from killing each other in private (good luck with that this year!). And it’s totally unpaid. Finding someone both qualified and interested is not going to be easy. Let’s keep an eye on this situation, shall we?
UPDATE: Apparently, this appears to have been decided before Yvette Lewis even resigned, and the answer to “who decides” turns out to be the Mikes. Not a surprise. Josh Kurtz had his usual good analysis of the story yesterday. Go read it. Bruce Poole was a moderate delegate from Hagerstown from 1987-99, and has been a well-known insider since his legislative career ended. Thanks to Alan Brody for flagging this for me.
I nominate Jonathan Shurberg.