“I’m not trying to take anything away from the state party or steal their thunder. “There’s not an organized focus on the county level,” Burton said. He envisions the PAC supplementing the work of the state party, which tends to concentrate on elections higher up the ballot. Jim Burton, a former executive director of the Maryland Republican Party who has advised GOP candidates in the state for three decades, plans to convert a dormant political action committee he controls called Maryland Families First into a recruiting and training organization for Republicans and conservatives at the county level, including school board races.īurton said he believes the key to the party’s renewal is building a bench of quality candidates at the local level. Ford.Īs Maryland Republicans prepare to gather at the Maryland Live! Casino Saturday to elect a new slate of leaders following a calamitous election cycle, one GOP consultant is pushing an idea to help build the party from the ground up. 5, 2022, after a swearing-in ceremony at Harford Community College. Harford County Executive Robert Cassilly (R) chats with reporters Dec.