How Adam Wood Screwed the Maryland GOP
By hanging on to a job he knew he had to leave, Wood deprived Maryland Republicans of somebody committed to helping Republicans win.
Adam Wood’s tenure as Maryland Republican Party Executive Director came to an abrupt end today, as Chairman Nicole Harris announced Wood’s departure.
Annapolis, Maryland ̶ Maryland Republican Party Chairwoman Nicole Beus Harris announced today that the MDGOP’s current Executive Director, Adam Wood, will be stepping away from his position with the party.
“For three years, Adam Wood has helped to build a new foundation for the Maryland Republican Party. He has been a key part of bringing more training, organization, and communication within the party. I wish him the best as he pursues a new goal and a new chapter in his life,” said Chairwoman Beus Harris.
The Chairwoman has not announced the new Executive Director at this time, but is confident in the transition period and the organization’s readiness as we enter the all‐important 2026 midterms and gubernatorial election cycle.
The curtness of the Harris statement made it clear that Wood did not resign, but was actually fired. It almost sounds like Wood wanted to stay on as Executive Director AND run in a contested primary for State Senate in District 42 against a fellow Republican. Such an arrangement would be a clear violation of the Maryland Republican Party bylaws, as well as an OBVIOUS violation of political ethics. But considering Wood’s girlfriend Nicolee Ambrose got away with running for Congress while serving as Maryland’s National Committeewoman, he probably thought he could get away with it too.
But Adam Wood (and let’s face it, Nicolee Ambrose’s) self-dealing here puts the screws to Nicole Harris and the Maryland Republican Party in a way that helps no one.
Wood registered his account two weeks before his campaign announcement, on November 24th.
That means Wood had been planning to run for this office for some time, especially considering incumbent Senator Chris West announced his retirement several years ago.
Now, Wood’s departure creates a vacancy in the single most important role in the state Republican Party less than 11 months before the gubernatorial general election. An election that Wood’s incompetence has left the Maryland GOP woefully unprepared for.
This, of course, leads us to ask all sorts of questions. Like, were Wood and, by extension Ambrose, more concerned with what helps them instead of what helps the GOP?1 Did Wood focus Maryland GOP resources on his own campaign instead of the State Party? Were Maryland GOP resources used to benefit his campaign? Did Wood work on his campaign while he was on State GOP time?
But more importantly, if Wood were going to bail before his two years as Executive Director were up, why did he wait so long to leave? Why did he wait so long and force Harris to conduct a potentially rushed Executive Director search at a time when most other candidates already have a job? And, realistically, why would any viable candidate take the job so close to the general election when coming in to clean up the mess of an incompetent Executive Director who bailed when the going got tough to try and glorify himself?
Instead of leaving his job with enough time for the Chairman to find a credible candidate committed to helping Republicans win, Adam Wood hung on for a paycheck and whatever else he helped himself to on state party time.
Adam Wood’s incompetence dug the Maryland Republican Party a hole. His self-interest and arrogance backed the State Party into a corner it will be hard-pressed to recover from. I have been critical of Nicole Harris, but this is not her fault. Adam Wood screwed the Maryland Republican Party.
We know Ambrose has. Nicolee Ambrose has been me-first for more than 20 years. You didn’t think the Maryland GOP Christmas Party being at her house every year is a coincidence, do you?