Md. Republicans prep for a convention suffused with unexpected drama

Workers prepare the stage for the Republican National Convention on July 13, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

MILWAUKEE – The Republican National Convention kicks off Monday in this lakefront city, to renominate former President Donald Trump and his yet-to-be-announced running mate, during an unprecedented moment in U.S. politics.

What was meant to be a celebration of Trump and his political allies, with pomp, partisanship and parties, has turned into something else – but no one is exactly sure what. The anticipatory air that precedes any political convention has turned tense and sober following the shooting of the former president at a rally in Western Pennsylvania Saturday evening.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Don Murphy, a former state lawmaker and GOP convention delegate from Maryland, said Sunday. “This could have been so much different, so much worse.”

Trump is said to have sustained only minor injuries in the shooting, and his campaign insists the four-day convention will go on as planned, with the former president scheduled to give the closing address on Thursday evening. The unveiling of Trump’s vice-presidential pick was expected Monday, but the timing of that announcement is now unclear.

In an attempt to stick to the schedule and sustain a sense of normalcy, several members of the Maryland delegation attended a Milwaukee Brewers game Sunday afternoon. The Brewers hosted the Washington Nationals – the local team to many Marylanders.

But it was clear that delegates were worried about Trump’s health – and were thinking about the other shooting victims at the rally. One person died, two were seriously wounded, and the Secret Service wound up shooting the alleged killer, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

“The Maryland Republican Party stands with President Trump and prays for his quick recovery and safety,” Nicole Beus Harris, the state GOP chair, said in a Facebook post Saturday night. “We trust that the Secret Service and all law enforcement involved will do a thorough job and provide answers when they can. We support them and thank them for the difficult job they do.”

Many political leaders on both sides of the political aisle, nationally and in Maryland, have called for rhetorical restraint and greater comity in the wake of the shooting. But whether that’s possible, especially in this combustible political era and in a hyper-partisan political setting like a nominating convention, is very much an open question.

Meet the Maryland delegation

Four dozen Maryland Republicans have trekked to Milwaukee to be convention delegates, and several alternate delegates, GOP strategists, donors, former officials and hangers-on are also here.

The delegates include political newcomers and junior officeholders, along with political veterans, the state’s lone Republican congressman, and a high-profile national conservative leader who chairs the Maryland delegation.

But some bold-faced names from the Maryland GOP are not here. That includes former Gov. Larry Hogan, the most successful Maryland Republican politician in generations, who is on the outs with Trump and the MAGA crowd.

Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), whose wife worked in the Trump administration and whose campaign to stamp out wokeness aligns nicely with the former president’s priorities, won’t be there, either.

Neither will former state Del. Neil C. Parrott, the Maryland GOP’s best hope for flipping a Democratic-held congressional seat this fall, in the 6th District.

“I need to be where the voters are,” he told Maryland Matters.

All the Maryland delegates are pledged to Trump, who will become the GOP’s White House nominee for the third straight time on Thursday – and who was leading President Joe Biden in most national and swing-state polls even before Saturday night’s shooting, buoying his supporters.

But a convention isn’t just about nominating and spotlighting the national ticket. It’s also a tribal gathering, a reunion of party leaders, donors, activists, professionals and associated advocacy groups – and the media that cover them.

And traditionally, it’s a great big party, though the revelry may be muted some following the Trump shooting.

“Yes, it’s fun, but it’s also incredibly exciting to have people come from 50 states and six territories and share ideas and feed off each other,” said Nicolee Ambrose, who was first elected the Republican National Committeewoman from Maryland in 2012. “It really gives party leaders and activists that extra power and adrenaline for the election, which is always very hard work.”

Despite Hogan’s success and unique political brand – after leaving office in early 2023 with record high approval ratings, he’s now the strongest candidate for U.S. Senate that Republicans have run in Maryland since 1980 – the state party, like most Republicans everywhere nowadays, operates in Trump’s image, not Hogan’s.

The state convention delegation is led by David Bossie, the Republican National Committeeman from Maryland and a Trump confidant who heads the influential national conservative group Citizens United. Beus Harris, the party chair, is a GOP strategist and marketing consultant who is married to seven-term U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation. Congressman Harris is a charter member of the House Freedom Caucus, so comfortable with Trump’s pugilistic conservatism.

The Maryland convention delegation includes longtime Trump supporters who were pledged Trump delegates when he first ran for president in 2016, including Del. Barrie S. Ciliberti (R-Frederick), former Del. Wendell Beitzel, and JoAnn Y. Fisher, a frequent candidate for office in Prince George’s County.

But more “establishment” Maryland Republicans are also now in the Trump camp, including former state GOP chief Dirk Haire, who assumed that post when Hogan was governor and is an elected Trump delegate, and former Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh (R), an elected alternate.

Ellen R. Sauerbrey, the grande dame of Maryland conservatism and two-time GOP gubernatorial nominee, who is now 86, is also here as a delegate.

“I’m very excited,” said Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano (R), who is in Milwaukee attending her first convention. “I think it’s going to be an awesome experience to be with like-minded individuals from across the United States.”

The Maryland delegation is staying in a hotel in downtown Milwaukee, just a few blocks from the Fiserv Forum, the arena where the convention is taking place, and near several other event venues. The Pfister Hotel, an iconic Milwaukee hotel where Trump is expected to stay, is also nearby.

Any political convention can become an exercise in celebrity-watching. On Sunday afternoon, as several Maryland Republicans were standing outside their hotel, a six-car motorcade pulled up across the street, depositing U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at a different hotel.

One thing that is different this year from previous Republican conventions: Maryland GOP leaders are being tight-lipped about many of their activities, and the daily delegation breakfasts, which traditionally feature speeches from national political figures, have been decreed off-limits for reporters. That’s consistent with the state party’s recent insistence that certain fundraising events must also be closed to the press.

Building the platform

Some Maryland delegates were in Milwaukee well before the start of the convention. Washington County Commissioner Derek J. Harvey (R) and Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) served on the platform committee, which helped develop the 16-page platform that advances Trump’s 20 priorities. Convention delegates are expected to approve the document Monday.

Szeliga, who also served on the platform committee for the 2012 convention in Tampa, when Mitt Romney was the presidential nominee, said the process was dramatically different this time.

“In 2012, it was two days and subcommittees and binders full of policy papers. It was similar to a legislative subcommittee,” she recalled. “I was really excited by the fact that this time, President Trump and the committee, we were done in a morning. I think it was brilliant to boil it down to 20 promises and 16 pages. We want to streamline government so it’s good to streamline our policy document.”

While party platforms almost always reflect the presidential nominee’s priorities, this one reads as if it was written by Trump himself – with themes he repeats frequently on the campaign trail, and lots of capitalization. Notably, in contrast to previous recent conventions, the Republican platform does not call for a nationwide ban on abortion, a nuanced position by Trump and his supporters that brought a rebuke from his former vice president, Mike Pence.

Szeliga said conventions “remain an essential part of the political process.”

“It’s an opportunity for the country, the nation and the world to see our deep bench of talent,” she said. “And it’s important for us to lay out our commonsense solutions. It’s a worldwide stage for us to share our ideas – just as it is for the Democrats at their convention.”

Also here from Maryland

Politicos aren’t the only Marylanders in Milwaukee for the convention.

Fifteen members of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department have been dispatched to Milwaukee to be part of the convention security, which will intensify throughout the convention and may become even more restrictive following the shooting at Trump’s rally Saturday.

Cpl. Rex Scott and Deputy Tyler Sitarek were sitting in a white SUV cruiser with the Carroll County seal about two blocks from the convention hall, next to a park where anti-GOP protesters are expected to gather Monday morning. The officers said they and their colleagues from Carroll County were part of an all-agency briefing on Saturday and will be dispatched as requested by the Milwaukee Police Department.

Scott said Trump’s shooting “heightens our awareness a little more,” but both police officers said they were pleased to be there. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel , members of the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Department are also here, one of several out-of-town law enforcement agencies assisting local authorities. About 4,000 law enforcement officials are on the ground in Milwaukee, which is expecting about 50,000 visitors for the convention.

“Our job is to make sure that these individuals stay safe,” Scott said. “It will be interesting.”

Party building

While most of the Maryland Republicans are bullish about Trump’s prospects in November – and are intrigued by Hogan’s potential in his race against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) – they are cognizant that Maryland remains a deeply blue state. But they are also hopeful that the Milwaukee convention can provide some building blocks for the party at home.

“I’m hoping we take away a renewed sense of purpose and momentum and something to build on,” Giordano said. But, she conceded, “I don’t think that something like that can happen overnight.”

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