Marylanders With Eyes on the White House

By Gilbert Sandler

Some may think, following the recent presidential primaries, that Alan Keyes is the first Marylander to go after the presidency. Not so.

One Marylander who appeared close to being a candidate; another was led to believe he would be a candidate, and a third said he was expecting to be a candidate, but was only kidding (maybe).

The first was Gov. Albert C. Ritchie, who served four terms, beginning in 1919; on his retirement from office one newspaper called him “the greatest governor Maryland ever had.”

In 1924 he was nominated for president (by Marylander Howard Bruce) at the 1924 Democratic National Convention in New York. A wild floor demonstration in his support lasted half an hour. But the convention nominated John W. Davis.

Ritchie was nominated again in 1932 by his fellow Marylander, Sen. Millard Tydings. This time the demonstration at the Chicago convention lasted 40 minutes. Delegates were reported to have been astounded at the unexpectedly strong show of support for Ritchie. But in the end they nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Bradford Jacobs tells it in his book `”Thimbleriggers'' (Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1984), “A Ritchie drive for the presidential nomination foundered only upon collision with the steely machinery that was to lift Franklin D. Roosevelt to the stars.” The Marylander who was led to believe he could be a presidential candidate was Spiro T. Agnew.

While still governor of Maryland Agnew came to the attention of presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon, who was looking for a conservative running mate. Agnew had broken into the news following a harsh confrontation with Baltimore's black leaders after the riots of 1968. He accused them of failing to speak out against the rioters and losing control of the situation. Nixon liked that kind of talk.

Nixon and Agnew were elected and Agnew was given the role of attacking the press and the liberals. He did so well that over the years he developed a strong and growing constituency of his own. Many began to think of him as the party's candidate for president in 1976. They talked of starting an organization calculated to take Agnew to the Oval Office. But then he got caught in kickback scandals and had to resign the vice presidency in 1973.

The Marylander who was not expecting to be the candidate but said he was, was Theodore R. McKeldin.

At the 1952 Republican National Convention, Dwight D. Eisenhower was contesting with Robert Taft to become the party's nominee. He knew he needed a rousing nomination speech. He chose a superb orator from a border state, aligned with the liberal wing of the party -- Governor McKeldin.

As recalled by the late Judge Simon E. Sobeloff, friend and adviser to Baltimore's mayors and Maryland's governors, Ike reached McKeldin at the latter's hotel room. He personally invited him to do the honors.

According to Sobeloff, McKeldin responded deliberately, as if he had thought about the answer for a long time. He said to Ike with as straight a face and as serious a voice as he could manage,

”Why, General, I was thinking of running for president myself .”