{"id":744,"date":"2026-05-30T13:10:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744"},"modified":"2026-05-30T13:10:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T13:10:35","slug":"driven-by-his-conscience-a-lifelong-republican-quits-the-gop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744","title":{"rendered":"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On the afternoon of May 7, former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman walked into his county board of elections. What happened next \u2014 aside from going unrecognized \u2014 would perhaps strike some who know Kittleman as surprising.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s presidential library is really a $1 billion cover-up machine: report<\/a><\/p>\n

Kittleman, 67 and a lifelong Republican, ended his affiliation with the Republican Party \u2014 the party of his father and grandfather.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was driving home from work one day, and I just happened to drive by where the Board of Elections is\u2026 and I went, hey, today\u2019s a good day,\u201d Kittleman said during an interview this week in a Clarksville restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think that a former county executive walking in to change affiliation, the person at the desk phone would go, \u2018Whoa,’\u201d Kittleman joked. \u201cBut the person didn\u2019t know me from Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the elections worker only asked Kittleman if he was sure he wanted to register as an unaffiliated voter. Unaffiliated voters \u2014 there are more than 1 million in Maryland \u2014 cannot vote in most races in a primary election.<\/p>\n

The decision might strike some as rash.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t, Kittleman said.<\/p>\n

It was borne out of growing concerns he said he had since 2016 and the first term of Donald Trump, Jan. 6 and Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019s huge,\u201d he said. \u201cI always tell people you should vote on the basis of character, integrity, honesty, humility. That\u2019s the person you want in office, because you don\u2019t know what the issue is going to be next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

To him, Trump had none of those. And now Kittleman said he is concerned about the party becoming more the party of Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what people don\u2019t understand is you might be able to be a closed tent in Oklahoma, but you can\u2019t be a closed tent in Maryland,\u201d Kittleman said. \u201cYou 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\u2019re not going to win any races.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kittleman views his decision to leave the party as a personal one driven by his conscience.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy decision isn\u2019t a rejection of the people in my life who remain Republicans, it isn\u2019t a conversion to the other side,\u201d Kittleman said. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Kittleman, the youngest of three, was raised by a single father \u2014 former Sen. Bob Kittleman.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, Howard County was more rural. And more segregated.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s branch.<\/p>\n

Allan Kittleman learned his politics at the knee, and dinner table, of his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was very big on government not being involved in your life in a business sense or in a personal sense,\u201d Kittleman said. \u201cMy dad would say, \u2018Get out of the bedroom and get out of the boardroom.\u2019 So, I was kind of raised with that and definitely that whole spirit of equality. My dad was so adamantly supportive of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also learned the importance of being able to defend his opinion when talking about issues around that dinner table.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201dHe would always say, \u2018Every opinion\u2019s OK, you just got to back it up,’\u201d Kittleman said. \u201cSo, I kind of learned at a pretty young age, I need to explain why I believe what I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump tears apart his number two and refuses to crown him as MAGA\u2019s future<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

After Robert died of leukemia in 2004, Allan was appointed to fill his father\u2019s Senate seat. By 2008, he was the leader of the Republican Caucus \u2014 a position he would step down from in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was Mr. Republican of Howard County,\u201d Kittleman said.\u201d I think a lot of people saw me as taking that mantle over.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There was never a doubt, he said, that it was a Republican issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Republicans. We believe in limited government. Why in the world should we care what someone does in their personal life?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Kittleman said he\u2019s focused on another teaching from his father: Never rising above your principles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat always stuck with me,\u201d Kittleman said. \u201cYou know, you should never rise above your principles. Your principles are your principles \u2026 my dad would never do that. My dad would tell people straight. He said, you got to be honest with people. You can\u2019t lie to them and then go out and do something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s reelection in 1954.<\/p>\n

But that was a year of midterm backlash against Trump. In Maryland, Hogan\u2019s brand of Republican \u2014 similar to Kittleman\u2019s in many ways \u2014 was treated differently by Democratic voters who still supported him. All but one incumbent Republican county executive \u2014 including Kittleman \u2014 were turned out.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m waiting to pick up the pieces, and I\u2019m assuming that we\u2019re going to be able to pick up the pieces, and then Trump just seems to stay around, and I\u2019m still thinking that it\u2019s going to be OK,\u201d Kittleman said.<\/p>\n

But then came the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and Trump\u2019s reelection in 2024.<\/p>\n

Kittleman picks over the remains of a Caesar salad. He\u2019s not sure if there are pieces left to pick up.<\/p>\n

And he knows that some of his longtime friends who are Republicans might disagree with his decision. He\u2019s not sure how they\u2019ll take it.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s a personal decision. Like those opinions at the dinner tables of his youth. One he felt needed to \u201cback up.\u201d<\/p>\n

And maybe open a broader conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to have that conversation,\u201d Kittleman said. \u201cI 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\u2019d 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\u2019s their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump mailer exposes his bumbling on every front<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the afternoon of May 7, former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman walked into his county board of elections. What happened next \u2014 aside from going unrecognized \u2014 would perhaps strike some who know Kittleman as surprising.Kittleman, 67 and a lifelong Republican, ended his affiliation with the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDriven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the afternoon of May 7, former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman walked into his county board of elections. What happened next \u2014 aside from going unrecognized \u2014 would perhaps strike some who know Kittleman as surprising.Kittleman, 67 and a lifelong Republican, ended his affiliation with the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T13:10:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T13:10:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744\"},\"wordCount\":1292,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744\",\"name\":\"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T13:10:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=744#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP - Next Address America","og_description":"On the afternoon of May 7, former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman walked into his county board of elections. What happened next \u2014 aside from going unrecognized \u2014 would perhaps strike some who know Kittleman as surprising.Kittleman, 67 and a lifelong Republican, ended his affiliation with the...","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-05-30T13:10:35+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP","datePublished":"2026-05-30T13:10:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744"},"wordCount":1292,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744","name":"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-30T13:10:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e093e1773573371886cf276534661dd9.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=744#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Driven by his conscience: A lifelong Republican quits the GOP"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}