When Parties Flip — A Maryland Story

The First Map: When Democrats Were the Working Class

When Parties Flip — A Maryland Story

How Maryland’s political coalitions traded places without anyone noticing the ground move beneath their feet.

I. The First Map: When Democrats Were the Working Class

For most of the 20th century, Maryland politics looked nothing like it does today.

If you were a Democrat, you lived in:

• - Dundalk, Essex, Middle River

• - Baltimore City’s union neighborhoods

• - Western Maryland mining towns

• - Southern Maryland watermen communities

These were the places where the shift whistle still mattered.

Democrats voted after work.

Union halls doubled as Democratic headquarters.

Sen. Norman StoneJr.

The Dundalk Democrats had a face: Norman Stone Jr.

No one embodied the old Democratic east‑side machine more than Sen. Norman Stone Jr., who served from 1967 to 2019. He was:

• - pro‑labor

• - socially conservative

• - a classic ethnic‑Democratic, working‑class representative]

• - the last living remnant of the old Baltimore County Democratic machine

Stone is the perfect example of the kind of Democrat who would be a Republican today.

II. Baltimore’s Pivot: McKeldin, D’Alesandro, and the Birth of the Modern Democratic Coalition

Before the modern map took shape, Baltimore City lived through a political moment that most people forget — a moment when the parties were not yet who they would become.

Baltimore once had a Republican mayor, and not just any Republican.

Theodore McKeldin was one of the most outspoken civil‑rights advocates in the country. He called segregation “morally indefensible,” marched with Black clergy, pushed fair‑housing reforms, and treated Black Baltimoreans as full political partners at a time when many Democrats — especially in the South — were fighting integration tooth and nail.

McKeldin wasn’t a fluke. He represented the old liberal Republican tradition that once had real strength in Maryland’s cities and suburbs — fiscally conservative, socially progressive, and openly aligned with civil‑rights leaders.

Thomas “Big Tommy” D’Alesandro Jr. and Family. With she who would become Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But the Democrat who followed him, Thomas “Big Tommy” D’Alesandro Jr., changed the city’s political DNA.

D’Alesandro didn’t just win elections.

He built the first durable Black–white Democratic coalition in Baltimore:

• - appointing Black leaders to city boards

• - cultivating deep ties with Black churches

• - supporting early civil‑rights measures

• - bringing Black political clubs into the Democratic machine

• - treating Black neighborhoods as essential, not peripheral

This wasn’t accidental. It was strategic, deliberate, and effective.

And it worked.

Nancy Pelosi being sworn into Congressby Speaker Jim Wright of Texas. In between tthe two in a wheelchair was her father Thomas “Big Tommy” D’Alesandro Jr. whodied amonth later. Back rowin the green tie is Mayor Thomas “Young Tommy” D’Alesandro III

By the time D’Alesandro left office, the Black vote — which had Backrowcennnter been genuinely competitive in the 1940s — was becoming a core Democratic constituency. His political legacy didn’t end with him, either. His daughter, Nancy Pelosi, would grow up to become one of the most effective congres AGA readers, precisely because she mastered the coalition her father helped build.

McKeldin and D’Alesandro weren’t just two mayors.

They were the hinge on which Maryland’s racial and partisan realignment turned.

One Republican opened the door.

One Democrat built the house.

And Baltimore’s political identity — and eventually Maryland’s — shifted for good.

III. The Old Republican Map: Suburbs, Professionals, and the Chamber of Commerce

Maryland’s Republican Party once lived in the places that are now deep blue:

• - Montgomer7y County’s early suburbs

• - Towson, Timonium, Lutherville

• - Severna Park and Arnold

• - The Eastern Shore’s courthouse towns

These were the rock‑ribbed Republicans — fiscally conservative, socially moderate, white‑collar, managerial.

The face of this era: Connie Morella

Connie Morella represented the Rockville–Bethesda corridor from 1987 to 2003.

Her district is now held by Chris Van Hollen, one of the most reliably Democratic seats in the country.

The idea of a Republican winning in Rockville today isn’t just unlikely — it’s unthinkable.

IV. The Civil Rights Realignment Hits Maryland

Maryland’s Democratic Party split along familiar lines:

• - Baltimore City Democrats moved toward civil rights early.

• - Southern Maryland and Eastern Shore Democrats resisted.

• - Suburban Republicans absorbed the anti‑busing, anti‑integration vote.

This is when the tectonic plates began to shift.

V. Howard County: From Republican Stronghold to Democratic Engine

Howard County is one of the cleanest examples of the education‑driven realignment.

The old Republican era had a face: Gail Bates

For decades, Howard County Republicans like Del. Gail Bates and Sen. Allan Kittleman ran a disciplined, suburban, fiscally conservative machine.

They were the heirs of the old Montgomery County Republican style — polite, professional, moderate.

The new Democratic era has a face: Calvin Ball

Allan Kittleman, Gail Bates, and Joe Getty

Today, Howard County is one of the most reliably Democratic counties in Maryland.

County Executive Calvin Ball represents the new coalition:

• - highly educated

• - diverse

• - suburban

• - socially progressive

Howard County didn’t just drift.

It flipped — hard.

Sen. Johnny Ray Salling flipped Dundalk Republican

VI. Baltimore County: The Great Inversion

Baltimore County is the single best example of the realignment.

Old Democratic Baltimore County had Norman Stone.

New Republican Baltimore County has Johnny Ray Salling.

Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, a former steelworker from Dundalk, is the perfect mirror image of Norman Stone — same neighborhoods, same culture, opposite party.

The working‑class Democrat became the working‑class Republican.

That’s the realignment in one man.

VII. Western Maryland and Southern Maryland: The Collapse of the Old Democratic Vote

Allegany, Garrett, Washington, St. Mary’s, Calvert — all once competitive or Democratic — are now overwhelmingly Republican.

The issues changed.

The voters didn’t.

The parties moved around them.

8 Term Republican Connie Morella

VIII. Montgomery County: The Education Flip in Its Purest Form

Montgomery County was once the beating heart of Maryland Republicanism.

- Connie Morella

- Jean Roesser

- Betty Ann Krahnke

- Howard Denis

These were the suburban, college‑educated Republicans who defined the party for decades.

Today, Montgomery County is one of the most Democratic counties in America.

The coalition flipped.

The voters didn’t move — the parties did.

IX. Prince George’s County: A Different Mechanism

PG didn’t flip because of education.

It flipped because of:

• - Black suburbanization

• - demographic change

• - migration from D.C.

• - the rise of a Black middle class

It’s a different story than Montgomery or Howard, but it fits the same timeline.

X. The Modern Map: The Inversion Is Complete

Today in Maryland:

Democrats dominate:

• - highly educated suburbs (Montgomery, Howard)

• - racially diverse suburbs (Prince George’s)

• - urban centers (Baltimore City)

Republicans dominate:

• - white working‑class suburbs (Dundalk, Essex, Middle River)

• - rural counties (Eastern Shore, Western Maryland)

• - exurban pockets (Carroll, parts of Harford)

This is the exact opposite of the map you grew up with.

XI. The Takeaway: Parties Don’t Flip Ideologies — They Flip Coalitions

The Democratic Party didn’t “switch” from the KKK to civil rights.

The people who held those views moved between parties over decades.

Maryland shows this more clearly than almost any state.

• - McKeldin → old liberal Republicanism

• - D’Alesandro → early civil‑rights Democratic coalition

• - Norman Stone → old Democratic working class

• - Johnny Ray Salling → same voters, new party

• - Connie Morella → old suburban Republicanism

• - Chris Van Hollen → same geography, new party

• - Gail Bates → old Howard County GOP

• - Calvin Ball → new Howard County Democrats

The ground moved.

The parties followed.

If you want, I can now tighten this into an even sharper, more aggressive Maryland Wire version — or we can build a Facebook‑optimized explainer that walks your group through the realignment without triggering the usual reflexive arguments.