Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP

Former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman, a lifelong Republican, recently left the GOP, the party of his father and grandfather, in which he once had prominent roles. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

On the afternoon of May 7, former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman walked into his county board of elections. What happened next — aside from going unrecognized — would perhaps strike some who know Kittleman as surprising.

Kittleman, 67 and a lifelong Republican, ended his affiliation with the Republican Party — the party of his father and grandfather.

“I was driving home from work one day, and I just happened to drive by where the Board of Elections is… and I went, hey, today’s a good day,” Kittleman said during an interview this week in a Clarksville restaurant.

“You would think that a former county executive walking in to change affiliation, the person at the desk phone would go, ‘Whoa,'” Kittleman joked. “But the person didn’t know me from Adam.”

Instead, the elections worker only asked Kittleman if he was sure he wanted to register as an unaffiliated voter. Unaffiliated voters — there are more than 1 million in Maryland — cannot vote in most races in a primary election.

The decision might strike some as rash.

It wasn’t, Kittleman said.

It was borne out of growing concerns he said he had since 2016 and the first term of Donald Trump, Jan. 6 and Trump’s second term.

“I’m somebody who believes that character, integrity, honesty and humility are the most important reasons to vote for somebody, not issues. That sounds funny, but that’s huge,” he said. “I always tell people you should vote on the basis of character, integrity, honesty, humility. That’s the person you want in office, because you don’t know what the issue is going to be next year.”

To him, Trump had none of those. And now Kittleman said he is concerned about the party becoming more the party of Trump.

“I think what people don’t understand is you might be able to be a closed tent in Oklahoma, but you can’t be a closed tent in Maryland,” Kittleman said. “You have to be able to invite people in who differ with you, and you know, unfortunately, now the Maryland Republicans are, like, not realizing the fact that we’re not going to win any races.”

Kittleman views his decision to leave the party as a personal one driven by his conscience.

“My decision isn’t a rejection of the people in my life who remain Republicans, it isn’t a conversion to the other side,” Kittleman said. “This is simply me saying I can no longer put my name next to a culture that treats disagreement as warfare and political opponents as enemies.”

And for those who truly know Allan Kittleman, perhaps his detour to the board of elections three weeks ago is not so surprising after all.

Kittleman, the youngest of three, was raised by a single father — former Sen. Bob Kittleman.

In the 1960s, Howard County was more rural. And more segregated.

The elder Kittleman, a lifelong Republican, cut his own path by supporting racial integration in the county. He went on to become the first white member of the county branch of the NAACP. Later, he became the only white president of the county’s branch.

Allan Kittleman learned his politics at the knee, and dinner table, of his father.

“My dad was very big on government not being involved in your life in a business sense or in a personal sense,” Kittleman said. “My dad would say, ‘Get out of the bedroom and get out of the boardroom.’ So, I was kind of raised with that and definitely that whole spirit of equality. My dad was so adamantly supportive of freedom.”

He also learned the importance of being able to defend his opinion when talking about issues around that dinner table.

“”He would always say, ‘Every opinion’s OK, you just got to back it up,'” Kittleman said. “So, I kind of learned at a pretty young age, I need to explain why I believe what I believe.”

After Robert died of leukemia in 2004, Allan was appointed to fill his father’s Senate seat. By 2008, he was the leader of the Republican Caucus — a position he would step down from in 2011.

“My dad was Mr. Republican of Howard County,” Kittleman said.” I think a lot of people saw me as taking that mantle over.”

Allan resigned from caucus leadership weeks before he announced his support of an effort to legalize same-sex marriage, and introduced a civil union bill. He later voted for full legalization in 2012.

“I really struggled with the marriage-equality issue, not because of what I believed, I struggled with how do I get it done and help others to be part of it,” he said.

There was never a doubt, he said, that it was a Republican issue.

“We’re Republicans. We believe in limited government. Why in the world should we care what someone does in their personal life?” he asked.

Kittleman said he’s focused on another teaching from his father: Never rising above your principles.

“That always stuck with me,” Kittleman said. “You know, you should never rise above your principles. Your principles are your principles … my dad would never do that. My dad would tell people straight. He said, you got to be honest with people. You can’t lie to them and then go out and do something different.”

Kittleman left the Senate and went on to serve one term as Howard County executive. He lost his reelection bid in 2018, a year when Larry Hogan became the first two-term Republican governor since Theodore McKeldin’s reelection in 1954.

But that was a year of midterm backlash against Trump. In Maryland, Hogan’s brand of Republican — similar to Kittleman’s in many ways — was treated differently by Democratic voters who still supported him. All but one incumbent Republican county executive — including Kittleman — were turned out.

When Kittleman lost to Calvin Ball, a Democrat and the first Black candidate to lead Howard County, he conceded. Not by text or email or social media. Kittleman went to Ball in person. Even after that defeat, Kittleman said he held out hope for his party once Trump lost in 2020.

“I’m waiting to pick up the pieces, and I’m assuming that we’re going to be able to pick up the pieces, and then Trump just seems to stay around, and I’m still thinking that it’s going to be OK,” Kittleman said.

But then came the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and Trump’s reelection in 2024.

Kittleman picks over the remains of a Caesar salad. He’s not sure if there are pieces left to pick up.

And he knows that some of his longtime friends who are Republicans might disagree with his decision. He’s not sure how they’ll take it.

He also said he realizes others like Hogan, and former Sen. David Brinkley, a Frederick Republican, have decided to remain in the party.

It’s a personal decision. Like those opinions at the dinner tables of his youth. One he felt needed to “back up.”

And maybe open a broader conversation.

“I want them to have that conversation,” Kittleman said. “I want them to have that conversation with their friends, with their family. I want people just to look at it honestly. If they decide I’d rather stay in this party, because it means a lot to me, or I believe in a lot of the ideals that Trump does, that’s their decision.”

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