Last spring I was walking around the Towson Town festival with my friends as one last hurrah before finals began. As I was looking at the different tables offering food, crafts or the chance to win a car, one in particular caught my eye. The table was for Change Maryland. Curious, I stopped to talk to the people working the table. They were a Republican Organization founded by Larry Hogan that wanted to bring change and common sense to Maryland. They were looking to get Hogan to Annapolis to be our next governor. I liked what they were saying and took one of the stickers they were handing out.
Flash forward a few months, I find out about an internship opportunity through the Towson College Republicans to work for the Hogan campaign. By this time Larry Hogan won the Republican Primary and was setting his sights on Annapolis. I took the offer and soon found myself putting together Hogan Rutherford signs and making phone calls encouraging people to get out and vote to Change Maryland. While all of this was going on I thought, “What if Hogan could actually win this?” It would be tough race to win in Democratic Maryland, but as the weeks went on Hogan kept gaining support and the election gained national attention and the support of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who made numerous visits to Maryland to help with the campaign.
Then came the moment of truth: Election Day: This was the chance to really make a difference for Maryland. Could Maryland really afford any more taxes or what people were calling “O’Malley’s third term” by electing Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown? As the polls closed and I watched the numbers for Larry Hogan go up and down, then up again, and watched Brown’s lead shrink, and ultimately disappear, I began to think that change was finally here. When it was official that Larry Hogan would be going to Annapolis, I couldn’t believe what just happened: a blue state just went red, in the biggest upset in the nation. And in addition to Hogan’s historic win in Maryland, Republicans also kept control of the House and won the majority of the Senate.
Looking back, I realized that this is what happens when people look past party lines and focus on who can do the best job for the state and country. I talked to so many people who were Democrat or who usually voted that way that said they were going to vote for Hogan. It’s a new era in not only Maryland, but the United States itself, and I look forward to see what gets done in the next four years.