Examiner

Many Republican voters in Maryland proved wrong political pundits who predicted historic turnouts at the polls this election, staying home and forcing overall turnout lower than 2004 numbers, according to an American University study.

The drop in Republican voters reflects a national trend, but in staunchly Democratic Maryland, it was more severe. The percentage of eligible Republican voters who turned out to the polls fell nationally more than 1 percentage point, but in Maryland, it fell about 5 points and forced the total turnout down from about 61 percent to about 57 percent, according to the study, released this past week by the Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University in Washington, D.C.

Jim Pelura, chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, said some members of the party have become disillusioned because Republican elected officials “have stopped acting like Republicans.”

“There was a general malaise and disappointment and lack of enthusiasm,” he said.

The Maryland GOP plans to check turnout in each county before regrouping under the basic principles of low taxes and small government to try to expand a Republican base in Maryland that conservatives believe is strong.

“We do have to change our program here in Maryland,” Pelura said. “We don’t need to change our basic philosophy, but we need to go and primarily appeal more to young people.”

Support for Sen. John McCain plummeted because his maverick style did not fit well with conservative or moderate Republicans, and in Maryland, conservatives grew even more discouraged because the state often favors Democratic candidates, said Curtis Gans, director of the electorate center.

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The study was based on the unofficial vote count as of late Wednesday as compiled by the Associated Press, and it estimates the total count.