Langer Ends Bid for MDGOP Chair

Queen Anne’s County Republican Central Committee member and President of the Institute for Liberty, Andrew Langer has dropped out of the running for MDGOP Chairman.

Here is his full statement:

I wanted to let you know that as of today, I am officially dropping out of the race for Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party.

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This was a tremendously hard decision to make–as I’ve said, the state party is at a crossroads, and I believe I’m one of the people who can help it go down the right path. As you know, I run a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group in DC, the Institute for Liberty, an organization that I have grown over the last 2 and a half years. IFL runs on the goodwill of citizens from around the US, and a few of my key patrons, who support the concept of my running for party chair, nevertheless would find it difficult to support IFL were I in such a high-level partisan role.

I could not, in good conscience, allow IFL to wither. So I had to make this choice.

A number of people have already started to ask me, and more will ask, if I am endorsing anyone else for chair. I have not come to a decision in that regard, as of yet. Whoever I support, that person will have to believe many of the same things that I do, support the text of the Chambers Compact, which I was proud to help draft and sign, and support much (if not all) of my vision statement for the Maryland Republican Party.

I believe that there are several people who would fit that bill, and I hope to talk to some of them in the next several days.

But what I do know is this: regardless of who wins the chairmanship, the party will have to come together. We can no longer operate in an environment in which serious divisions exist within either the party’s leadership or its rank and file. We must, as I said in that vision statement, stand shoulder to shoulder.

I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this effort thus far. I would not have even considered a serious run for MDGOP chair without their encouragement—and that encouragement is what makes this such a painful decision to make.

Nevertheless, I know you all will understand. I’m looking forward to working with our new chairman, whoever that might be, and the new executive team, to implement a new vision for Maryland, and to help bring the party victory.

Andrew Langer

Full disclosure: Andrew and I drafted the Chambers Compact together. You can sign your name in support of the document here. I’ll have the document posted on Red Maryland in the next day or so. I also recommend you read Andrew’s vision statement, The How Is Now: A Vision for Republican Unity in Maryland, 2010 and Beyond on his Facebook page.

The winner of next week’s election would do well to chart a course along the path Andrew has laid out.