Gilchrist's Md. defeat marks GOP decline

BALTIMORE, May 4 (UPI) -- The defeat of moderate Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrist in last year's Maryland GOP primary is prompting pundits to say the party is dead in the state.

Gilchrist's defeat by conservative state Sen. Andrew Harris, and Harris' subsequent loss to Democrat Frank Kratovil in the general election for Maryland's 1st Congressional District, has left the state with only a single GOP congressman for the first time in decades.

Some observers are saying the state is part of a shift that has the Republican Party shrinking into a regional force, The (Baltimore) Sun reported Monday.

The switch of U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania from the GOP to the Democratic Party is also part of a trend that has obliterated Republican representation in the mid-Atlantic and up the East Coast. In announcing his party switch last week, Specter said, "Republicans didn't rally to Wayne Gilchrest in Maryland. He was beaten by the Club for Growth and the far right."

In the 10 states from Maryland through New England, just 10 Republicans remain out of a total of 73 House seats. Harris' defeat left Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Frederick, Md., as the state's only GOP congressman, the newspaper noted.