During its annual meeting Saturday, the Montgomery County Republican Party declared its goal to turn the county from blue to purple by the 2014 elections
The party plans to take part in statewide voter registration drives, implement community outreach grassroots strategies and use their new Pathfinders Program, a candidate and organizer recruiting tool, according to The Maryland Reporter.
But such a transformation still seems like a lofty goal.
Montgomery County does have the largest number of registered Republicans in the state, but Maryland’s 23-member state delegation and nine-member council is all Democratic, and Mitt Romney only won 27 percent of the the vote there in 2012.
The GOP did, however, fare a bit better in the Sixth Congressional District -- which includes some parts of Montgomery County -- with Romney taking 42.6 percent of the vote.
Via the Maryland Reporter:
“Help us turn Montgomery County purple,” Maryland Republican National Committeewoman Nicolee Ambrose told the crowd of about 125 people on Saturday. “We want to be effective. We want it laid out in 2013, so by 2014 people will know us. I’ll take red, but let’s get to purple first.”
The Maryland Republican Party Chairman, Alex X. Mooney, announced over the weekend that he would resign from his post.
IN OTHER NEWS:
* A Maryland prison inmate was killed Sunday, marking the third time since September that an inmate was allegedly killed by another inmate at the North Branch Correctional Institution, the highest-security prison in the state. (Baltimore Sun)
* Councilman Jim Graham proposed legislation that would allow people to file a complaint and authorities to write up a warning if a car alarm is sounded for more than five consecutive minutes. The vehicle will then be towed eight hours after a warning is placed on it. But AAA says this legislation is silly, and car alarms aren’t actually an issue. (Washington Examiner)
* Why do Virginia politics get so much attention (and ridicule) from the national media? It could have to do with Virginia exceptionalism that traces its roots to the House of Burgesses in Jamestown in 1619. (Washington Post)
* Virginia state agencies will be ordered to reduce part-time employees to no more than 29 hours per week to avoid triggering a requirement under federal law to provide health insurance for employees who work 30 or more hours per week. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
* D.C. Councilman Jim Graham says he’s not going anywhere, after the Washington Post called for him to resign. (Washington City Paper)
* Ken Cuccinelli attacks Terry McAuliffe for building his electric car company's plant in Mississippi instead of Virginia. (Politico)
* Washington Post editorial board: O’Malley’s plan to subsidize the construction of wind farms would undermine the major climate plan that Maryland already has in place. (Washington Post)
* Sunday liquor sales start at A.M. Wine Shoppe in Adams Morgan, (Prince of Petworth)
* Two D.C. pharmacies are trying to seek grocery store status so they can start selling beer and wine. (Washington Examiner)
* Senator Tim Kaine throws a Bon Jovi fundraiser at Verizon Center, (Washington Examiner)
* Virginia gun legislation with bipartisan appeal would create a federal law aimed at gun trafficking, along with penalties of up to 20 years in prison for convicted straw purchasers. (The Virginian-Pilot)
