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For Maryland Republicans, the meaning of Tuesdays elections could be summed up in three words: Were relevant again.

That assessment by Joe Cluster, the state partys executive director, followed a decisive win by Republican Gov.-elect Larry Hogan and gains for Republican members of the General Assembly. Come January, a party that many had dismissed as unlikely to ever win another statewide contest in heavily Democratic Maryland will all of a sudden have a real say in Annapolis.

Some giddy party members already are talking about a second term for Hogan and wondering whether his victory the second election of a Republican governor in the past 12 years might be a signal that a state long perceived as liberal could become more purple than blue.

There was talk of using Hogans laserlike focus on tax relief to rebrand the GOP in Maryland in a way that could broaden the partys base and cut into the Democrats enormous advantage in registered voters.

Hogan has already brought a lot of new energy to the party, said Louis M. Pope, a national party committeeman from Maryland. We need to put in the time and resources to build Republican Party registration and build our party.

Hogan has declined interviews since his election, with aides saying his first priority must be launching his transition.

The Republican pickups in Maryland came during an Election Day in which the party made big gains in Congress and other statehouses across the country a GOP wave that Democrats have used to play down the significance of Hogans win.

After most ballots were tallied, Del. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick) and some of his supporters boarded a bus from Frederick to Hogans unbridled victory celebration in Annapolis, arriving at 2 a.m. to find the governor-elect still shaking hands.

I think this puts us back on the path to having a two-party state, said Hough, who was elected to a Senate seat Tuesday.

Yet the big expectations are also tempered by the realization that Hogan must find a way to deliver on his promises of tax relief. It will take significant cooperation from Democrats, who still dominate the legislature, to do so.

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After Election Day, Md. Republicans feel relevant again