More News

Calvert County's worst-kept political secret is official. Republican Ron Miller is taking a second crack at unseating one of the state's most powerful politicians, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.

Despite being routed in the battle of the surnames in 2006, the GOP's Miller believes he can mount a competitive campaign and force the incumbent to earn his 10th term in the Senate.

"People need to start equating who they put into office with the outcomes they have to deal with after the fact," Ron Miller said Monday, shortly after formalizing his paperwork at the state elections board in Annapolis on the first day that candidates could do so.

Mike Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach, who has served 23 years as Senate president, has not done enough in recent years to help Maryland's long-term financial picture, his GOP challenger accused.

"We've seen a pretty precipitous plummeting of our economic status," Ron Miller said. "Rather than someone having the courage to take the bull by the horns and come up with a long-term fiscal plan, we're basically going year-to-year trying to come up with a stopgap fix and hoping that we'll stay out of trouble for another year."

His message to voters will stress the need for fiscal reform, government accountability and restricting legislators' ability to raise taxes, he said.

Ron Miller, 49, also hopes to show voters that the Senate boss has used his authority to craft partisan outcomes in Annapolis that have not been beneficial back home.

That could be difficult to convey. Mike Miller, 66, enjoys widespread support across a district that spans southern Prince George's and northern Calvert counties; in 2006, he tallied 70 percent of the vote.

Ron Miller contends the wide margin was partially attributable to the anti-Republican sentiment at the time and his late entry into the race after suspending his campaign against Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville.

Since then, he has remained engaged in local politics, trying to boost his name recognition in anticipation of a repeat run.

Ron Miller serves as communications director for the Calvert County Republican Central Committee and regularly submits letters to local newspapers.

But for all his efforts, the challenger acknowledges that dethroning a stalwart politician who projects a gregarious image like Mike Miller won't be easy, even if the national mood is more receptive to Republicans in 2010 than four years ago.

"There's always going to be a strong base of support for him because of the things he's done and the people he knows," said Ron Miller, who lives in Huntingtown with his wife, Annik, and three children.

He is a homeland security consultant for ManTech International Corp.