Maryland stepped to the right in Tuesday's elections -- and met Carroll County.
Carroll residents elected only one Democrat Tuesday, and Republican leaders have been after him for years to change parties. Even Democrats who won statewide lost in Carroll -- Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein, Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. and U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes.
Carroll, a rural county that is growing into a suburb, hasn't always been a Republican stronghold. But its Democrats have always been conservative. They don't like talk of raising taxes, increasing social programs or providing cable television for prisoners.
They want government to deal in what they see as the basics -- roads, schools and emergency services.
Carroll residents took to Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey's message of tax cuts and smaller government in a big way. They gave her one of her biggest victories in the state's 23 counties.
She beat Democratic candidate Parris N. Glendening by a margin of almost 3-1 in Carroll -- 31,775 votes or 72 percent to Mr. Glendening's 12,304 or 27.9 percent. Only Garrett County showed a larger margin.
"We are ecstatic," Thomas W. Bowen, chairman of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee, said of the election results.
Carroll is the second-most Republican county in the state, with 1.14 registered Republicans for every Democrat. Garrett boasts 1.97 Republicans for every Democrat.
The only other predominantly GOP counties are Frederick and Allegany, both with 1.03 Republicans for each Democrat.
Carroll's next-door neighbors are strongly Democratic. Howard County has 1.36 Democrats for each Republican. Baltimore County has almost 2.4 Democrats for each Republican.
Until four years ago, Democratic registered voters in Carroll outnumbered Republicans. In 1990, statistics show the GOP gained a 931-vote edge. Since then, Republicans have steadily built support.
As of last month, they outnumbered Democrats by 3,848 in a county electorate of 64,452. The GOP registered three times as many voters between the primary and general elections in Carroll as the Democratic Party.
The county had 31,438 registered Republicans and 27,590 registered Democrats as of last month.
In the past, Carroll voters have supported Democrats, but the candidates have never been far from the center of the political spectrum.
The county helped elect conservative Democrat Beverly B. Byron to seven terms in the U.S. House representing Western Maryland's 6th District. They also helped keep Democrat Charles H. Smelser, a District 4 delegate and senator, in Annapolis from the mid-1950s.
Mr. Smelser, who is retiring this year, is a pragmatist who worked to keep spending down. He will be replaced by Republican Timothy R. Ferguson of Taylorsville, who ran on a conservative Christian platform and won in Carroll by a margin of more than 2-1. District 4 includes part of Frederick County.
The lone winning Democrat in Carroll -- District 5 Del. Richard N. ++ Dixon, who was elected to a fourth term -- said his party could improve its showing in Carroll by offering candidates who "aren't endorsed by unions or for gun bans."
Mr. Dixon, an investment stockbroker and member of the House Appropriations Committee, said, "The Democratic Party needs to have a philosophy consistent with its constituents. The liberal philosophy is dead."
L. Gregory Pecoraro, chairman of the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee, said he considered the party's local candidates moderate.
"In general, this was not a liberal ticket," he said, acknowledging that what is considered moderate in another metropolitan county probably would be called liberal in Carroll.
Mr. Pecoraro, an aide to Mr. Sarbanes, admitted that Carroll Democrats are less organized, and have fewer volunteers and less money than the GOP.
Republicans register voters at events all year, every year, said District 5 Sen. Larry E. Haines of Westminster, who was elected Tuesday by a wide margin to a second term.
This year, the party sent up to 50 people to campaign door-to-door every Saturday between the primary and general elections, he said. That helped boost turnout, he said.
"The Republicans worked together as a team effort," campaigning for state as well as local candidates, Mr. Haines said.
In the comptroller's race in Carroll, Republican Timothy R. Mayberry received 52.74 percent of the vote, and Mr. Goldstein received 47.18 percent. In 1990, Mr. Goldstein won the county with 72 percent of the vote.
In the attorney general's race, Republican Richard D. Bennett received 63.7 percent of the vote to Mr. Curran's 35.93 percent. Four years ago, Mr. Curran won in Carroll with 65 percent of the vote.
In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Bill Brock outpolled Mr. Sarbanes in Carroll by the largest margin in any county, receiving 57.36 percent of the vote to Mr. Sarbanes' 42.41 percent.