Maryland GOP, reeling from disastrous election, picks new leadership

Reeling from a midterm election in which they lost every statewide race in a landslide and every competitive county contest, Maryland Republicans on Saturday chose a new leader tasked with trying to unite a fractured party and broaden its appeal. Nicole Beus Harris, a political consultant married to Maryland’s lone Republican congressman, Andy Harris, was named chairwoman of the state party, defeating Gordana Schifanelli, the 2022 candidate for lieutenant governor, and Baltimore businessman Tim Fazenbaker. The Maryland Republican Party announced Beus Harris’s victory on social media. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A marketing consultant who has done work for Republican candidates, including her husband, she wrote before the vote that the party needs “a complete rebranding” and a stronger fundraising machine.