Maryland’s GOP celebrated in November as Gov. Larry Hogan won re-election — just the second time in state history a Republican governor was elected to another term.

But the party had trouble in down-ballot races, losing re-election campaigns by Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman, a moderate Republican seen by many as best positioned for a gubernatorial run after Hogan’s term ends; and Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, seen as another possible successor to Hogan.

In the wake of Hogan’s victory, the Maryland Republican Party re-elected as chairman Dirk Haire, an Anne Arundel resident and partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild. He was unopposed. The Baltimore Sun interviewed Haire last week at the paper’s Port Covington headquarters. These questions and answers have been edited for space and clarity.

Q: In your view, what is the current state of the Republican Party in Maryland?

A: I think it’s terrific. Obviously, we re-elected a Republican governor for the first time since the 1950s and only the second time in history. We were obviously hoping to pick up more seats in the state Senate, but Maryland is the only state in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic where the Republican Party both won the governor’s race and also picked up seats in one house of the legislature. (The GOP gained one seat in the Maryland Senate.)

Q: But there were some notable losses, too. There’s been some talk that the Republican bench was wiped out.

A: I kind of chuckle. I read a comment from some Democrat who said we were wiped out for a generation. I was a little perplexed at that. Allan Kittleman and Steve Schuh are terrific guys. I’m very disappointed they lost. But those two and Governor Hogan are all around 60 years old. We didn’t lose a generation. We lost, sadly, a couple of middle-aged white guys. What we did do ... if you look just the county elections, 42 Republican women won county races.

Q: During his campaign for re-election, the governor tried to distance himself from President Donald Trump, who polls very poorly in Maryland. Do you think Republicans in Maryland have a separate brand from the party nationally?

A: Each state is different. One of my chief frustrations is politicians of both parties have a real problem staying in their lane. How we’re going to operate as the Republican Party in Maryland is going to be somewhat different than the Republican Party in Wyoming. But we’re all the Republican Party. We’re here to support Republicans.

Q: To what do you attribute Hogan’s success in blue Maryland?

A: He ran a very effective campaign. The Democrats like to pooh-pooh his cut in tolls on the Bay Bridge. But the Republican Party and Governor Hogan were savvy to what matters to voters: things that affect them every day. … We need to do more of that.

Q: What do you think is the main difference between Maryland’s Republican and Democratic parties?

A: A million voters.

Q: They certainly have a million more than you. How do you win voters over?

A: We need to modernize the Republican brand. First, we need to recruit more diverse candidates. We need more women candidates. The data tells me we probably would do better if we had more women candidates.

luke.broadwater@baltsun.com

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