Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) flocked with their entourages to the southernmost town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore Wednesday for a cherished ritual of state politics, the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Crisfield.

The nominees for U.S. Senate said they wouldn’t have missed it.

“I come here every year,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s just the time for Marylanders to come together from everywhere. It’s a bonding experience where we gather for crabs and conversation.”

Hogan, the two-term governor and candidate, has attended the event since he worked on his father’s congressional campaigns. The trip is as much political muscle memory as it is about campaigning.

“It’s just a great place to be,” said Hogan. “It’s sort of like the Super Bowl of politicking. There’s just wonderful people on the Shore and from all over the state. And it’s just a tradition. That’s what I like about it.

“But I’m not sure if people are winning votes here actually. It’s just a great time to bring people together and to bring some attention and some money to the Shore,” he said.

What did the two candidates encounter on a mild but drizzly autumn day?

Hogan was trolled by members of AFSCME, a state employees union that frequently butted heads with the former governor. Union members carried red placards reading “Larry Hogan stole my wages”— a reference to recently settled cases with the U.S. Department of Labor to settle millions of dollars in overtime wage theft claims.

Another group — sent by the Maryland Democratic Party — dressed as judges and carried signs quoting Hogan praising former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court picks. The signs also attempted to tie Hogan to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling curtailing abortion rights.

Tawes has rarely, if ever, been host to such political counter-programming.

“It was kind of ridiculous,” said Hogan. “It’s the typical toxic politics that everybody’s sick and tired of, and quite frankly, it’s embarrassing for them to do it.”

But Alsobrooks, asked about a new attack ad that a political action committee aligned with Hogan began airing about her on radio Wednesday, also dismissed political attacks.

“The MAGA Republicans have put $18 million in to try to help their friend,” she said of the ad, which references a recent report that Alsobrooks took property tax credits she wasn’t entitled to.

‘It’s the place to be’

Hundreds of members of the state’s political tribe were gathered at the Somers Cove Marina for the annual event, along with civic leaders from the Lower Shore. Hundreds of everyday citizens were also there, enjoying a midweek respite, with all the seafood, beer and soda they could consume for their $75 ticket – 67% more than in 2017.

But the crowd size seemed way down from previous years, begging the question of whether the Tawes crab feast is still the must-do event for Maryland’s political class — not to mention for seafood lovers — that it once was.

“If you love Maryland politics, it’s the place to be,” said Paul Ellington, a Republican strategist.

“It’s a cool location,” he said. “The Lower Shore is beautiful. This is our political hotbed. It’s political nirvana. It’s political mecca, one day out of the year.”

And Ellington has made the pilgrimage many times over the last three decades.

But he acknowledged a change.

“I think it had its heyday, if you will, probably 10 years ago,” Ellington said.

Privately, other longtime attendees were more pointed. One questioned if the event Wednesday marked a turning point for the political relevance of the event. The crowds are down, the “vibe is off,” said one attendee.

The lighter-than-usual crowds at the food stalls mirrored what was going on in the private tents.

Annapolis lobbyist Bruce Bereano has a tent that rivals a circus big top. The power lobbyist begins sending updates on the event in February.

Inside, new-era pols break crabs with veterans and former elected officials of days gone by. The tent is typically packed with people shoulder to shoulder as they navigate tables. This year the traffic in the tent wasn’t nearly so congested.

It is too soon to write a political obituary for the crab feast. Some regulars believe the event has been hamstrung by external forces — weather and the pandemic and the economy — but will regain its footing.

“Don’t all things like this, ebb and flow and wax and wane?” asked Gene Ransom, CEO of MedChi, The Medical Society of Maryland, and a former Queen Anne’s County commissioner. “I mean, it looks like it’s a pretty good crowd. I’ve seen a lot of people running for office here.”

Now 47 years old, the crab feast, named for a former governor and state comptroller who hailed from Crisfield, has for decades been a popular destination for political leaders — especially in election years — and regular folks. But events have changed Tawes in countless ways recently.

Until 2021, the crab feast was a mid-summer event, and beastly hot. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce, the sponsor, moved it to early autumn.

While this decision made the experience more comfortable for festivalgoers, it may have also cut the crowd size, because it’s often easier to take time off during the summer than it is in the fall.

“I think when they moved it after COVID, you lost some people,” Ellington said. “If anything, you lost a lot of the casual attendees — the people that could take time out of their summer and it was worth the trip to them.”

The state’s political calendar also changed a few election cycles ago. When the state had a September primary, several candidates from both parties would come to Crisfield in July to press the flesh. But now primaries take place in early summer in gubernatorial election years, so there would be fewer statewide candidates on hand by the time the crab feast rolled around.

Post-pandemic habits and inflation may also be playing a role for the deflated crowd size. The cost of a crab feast ticket in 2017 was $45, compared to $75 now. And while many politicians still come to Tawes, they don’t circulate around the marina grounds as much as they once did.

For politicians, Bereano’s tent has over the past several years become the focal point of the crab feast. Politicians and their guests gather there to socialize and get access to special food and drinks not available to average festivalgoers, often delivered by young runners who Bereano hires from the Crisfield area.

As a result, the pols are not moving around the marina grounds as much as they did in years past — and this year more than two dozen interest groups, from area colleges and businesses to political organizations and local governments had tents of their own, far smaller than Bereano’s.

Politics have also changed.

“Now, back in the day before we were so polarized, everybody would come here to campaign,” said Ransom. “The world has changed. I don’t know what that means for Tawes in the long run, because this part of the state is very red. The rest of the state is blue. It makes you wonder how sustainable all of this is in the long run.”

‘Politics is all about relationships, right?’

And yet, they come, political leaders from all over the state, some driving as much as five hours each way, to mostly spend time in Bereano’s tent, to reconnect and gossip with colleagues and operatives.

“It’s a great opportunity to see a lot of friends,” said Baltimore County Councilmember Julian Jones (D), who was wearing an Alsobrooks T-shirt. “I know where they’ll be. It’s good to take a day off.”

Del. Jon S. Cardin (D-Baltimore County) said he likes to come to Crisfield “to connect with people who are politically inclined.”

“It’s great to see what the pulse is around the state,” he said. “Good food, good friends. Coming here is always a happy occasion.”

Other Baltimore-area leaders said they were there to network.

Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, was there squiring Andrew Cushnir, the new president and CEO of The Associated Baltimore Jewish Federation, to connect with elected officials who aren’t from the Baltimore area. Representatives of Shomrim of Baltimore, a Jewish volunteer neighborhood watch agency, were on hand to talk public safety  issues with state leaders.

“I look forward to it all year,” said Tzvi Skaist, an EMT and director of operations for the group.

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly (R) said sharing a beer in Crisfield can pay political dividends in the future.

“Let’s face it, politics is all about relationships, right?” he said. “It’s an opportunity to build those essential relationships that you need. So when you see someone the next time, it’s friendly.”

Sen. Mike McKay (R-Allegany) may have had the longest trip, five hours one way — “a long way to come for crabs when crabs are delivered to Allegany County,” he said.

“The reason that I do come — and I don’t want to call it the mecca of political events — is that the interim is so important for relationships. That’s my biggest thing. So I can at least say hello to a chairman of a committee,” he said.

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“I was just talking to the Comptroller [Brooke Lierman],” McKay said. “Really, if I get 5 seconds with 15 people, I will say that it’s worth the 9 1/2-hour round trip that I will take for spending three hours here.”

Del. Kym Taylor (D-Prince George’s) gestured to the clutches of Hogan and Alsobrooks volunteers waiting for their candidates to arrive and declared the scene “so cool.”

“It’s a chance to see both political factions,” she said. “This is democracy in action.”

Lower Shore officials believe the visits from their counterparts across the state are invaluable.

“The fact that they would make the effort to come all the way to Crisfield speaks for itself,” said state Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), whose district includes Crisfield. “This is a can’t-miss event. The fact that a can’t-miss event is in Crisfield is a real honor.”

Crisfield Mayor Darlene Taylor told Maryland Matters last year that she was sorry more of the crab feast visitors didn’t spend extra time seeing the rest of the town. But Carozza, who had a tent of her own at the crab feast across from Bereano’s, said she could still talk to colleagues about the town’s needs and make funding and policy requests during legislative sessions.

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“It’s an opportunity when they come by, I can talk about all the efforts to improve our communities,” she said. “This event keeps our priorities front and center with them.”

When Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D), standing in for Gov. Wes Moore (D – who was in Annapolis meeting with the king of Jordan – greeted Carozza and the delegates from District 38, a heckler yelled, “Does she even know where the Eastern Shore is?”

But Carozza wouldn’t acknowledge the critic.

“I thanked [Miller] for taking the time and effort to make the trip,” she said.