Ellen Sauerbrey was a tremendous, true conservative GOP candidate in a state that was dominated by one party rule since the days of Spiro Agnew.
She probably did more to resurrect the two-party system in Maryland than any candidate in the last 25 years. Yeah, she came up a little short, but only because Newt Gingrich didn't have the guts to take on the MD establishment.
Nice, capable, lady but a poor candidate. She came off terribly, and was saddled with being on the ticket with the likes of Bill Brock. Brock's campaign was as bad as Steele's is good. Which is to say, very.
And then she got thumped the second time around.
KKT had as much to do with the rebirth of the Maryland Repubs as Sauerbrey.
Ehrlich got a chance and made the most of it. Now Steele stands to benefit, and the line will (hopefully) be continued.
The guy who isn't going to get the credit he deserves if (when) Steele wins is Ambassador Keyes.