‘Unity Team’ composes majority of Republican Delegation

Maryland Republican Party 2008 Spring ConventionANNAPOLIS-- The Maryland Republican Party finalized their delegation to the Republican National Convention during the party’s spring convention at the DoubleTree Hotel in Annapolis, today.

A total of ten at-large and ten alternate delegates were selected by the Republican State Central Committee.

Those elected were largely representative of the so-called “unity team” that a group of state Republican leaders and activists who supported various presidential candidates early in the primary process formed as a suggested fusion slate. The effort was lead by Chris Cavey, the first vice chairman of the state party.

Of those ten at-large members suggested by the unity team to represent the state, eight were selected by the state central committee; Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley and Howard County Central Committee Chairwoman Joan Becker were not elected.

Eight more alternatives suggested by the unity team were selected, while Queen Anne’s County Central Committee Chairwoman Sharon Carrick and Frederick County Central Committee member Katie Nash were not.

The following ten at-large and ten alternate members, listed in the order in which they were selected, represent the Maryland delegation:

At-Large Delegates

1. Chris Cavey (First vice chair of the state party; former Fred Thompson delegate)
2. Anthony J. O’Donnell (House Minority Leader; former Thompson supporter)
3. John Leopold (Anne Arundel County Executive; served on Rudy Giuliani’s state leadership team)
4. Mike Geppi (Third vice chair of the state party; former Giuliani activist)
5. Patt Parker (President of the Maryland Federation of Republican women)
6. Corey Stottlemyer (Former political director of the state party; long-time McCain activist)
7. Chuck Gast (Second vice-chairman of the state party; former Mitt Romney delegate)
8. Anne McCarthy (Former Dean of the Business School at the University of Baltimore; long-time McCain activist)
9. Tony McConkey (House Minority Whip; former co-chair of Mike Huckabee’s state campaign)
10. Larry Helminiak (Vice President of the Maryland Republican Assembly)

Alternates

1. Erik Robey
2. Mike Pappas
3. Ashley Barbera
4. Nicolee Ambrose
5. Rex Reed
6. Gloria Murphy
7. Stephen M. Wright
8. Loretta Shields
9. Christopher Shank
10. Kevin Igoe

State Party Chairman Jim Pelura told PolitickerMD.com that the composition of the delegation was “excellent,” adding, “They were arrived at through a Democratic process.”

“It shows the unity that Maryland Republicans have behind John McCain,” he added.

Pelura, who originally supported former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said he could “just as easily and just as enthusiastically” support McCain.

The chairman also said he thought the Republicans would benefit from the much longer Democratic primary campaign between Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

“The Democrats are going to select a nominee through superdelegates,” Pelura said. “It should be done by the will of the people.”

In addition, Pelura said McCain “is a different kind of politician,” which would give him a chance at carrying Maryland in the Electoral College.

“(McCain) is his own man,” Pelura said, adding “He is exactly what the country and Maryland need right now.”

A Republican nominee has not won The Free State since George H.W. Bush in 1988. In the last two elections, Al Gore and John Kerry easily secured the state by 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Justin Ready, the party’s new state executive director, also referred to the “unity” of the GOP delegation, adding, “The process was very open and indicative of how the party operates.”

“We are united behind John McCain,” Ready added.

The Maryland Democratic Party finalized their delegate slate last Saturday in Lanham.