The Republican sweep through Harford County in Tuesday's elections was repeated throughout the country. But the GOP show of force in Harford was somewhat different, clearly foreshadowed by past elections and voter trends.
Republican strength has been steadily growing as the county grows, and Harford has long harbored a lot of stealth Republicans, who only registered as Democrats because of a historic dearth of Republican primary contests. A lot of growth in Harford has also emigrated from eastern Baltimore city and county -- Reagan Democrat country.
Harford has strongly supported Republican candidates on the national and state levels for years. Where party ideology was paramount, Harford was usually inclined to vote for Republicans.
In 1990, five of the seven County Council members elected were Republicans, the first GOP majority since Harford adopted charter government two decades earlier. But that reflected widespread public disgust with political veterans and incumbents, a negative backlash that was not based on conscious party perspective but naturally swept out the Democratic officeholders.
In fact, Harford voters have seldom paid much attention to party labels in county races. They typically vote conservative, however, and any number of local Democratic contenders espouse that philosophy as well as Republicans. This has often led to a healthy political turnover in local offices, albeit without a switch between parties.
This year, the powerful Republican undercurrent in Harford became a tidal wave with national impetus. The anti-Clinton message was obvious, but there was a strong pro-Republican force that was not merely anti-incumbent.
The GOP took all Harford County Council seats, elected a sheriff and state senator for the first time in nearly a half-century. Republicans were the top vote-getters in both legislative districts; only Democrat Eileen Rehrmann matched the GOP juggernaut in an overwhelming re-election victory as county executive.
The outcome in Harford demonstrates, however, that candidates can feel confident running as Republicans and that voters can feel confident there will be contested GOP primary races in the future. Where Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans 3-1 a dozen years ago, the edge is now less than 3-2 and the movement toward parity continues. It's an acknowledgment at last of a functional two-party system in the county.