Yeah, Maryland was in play

Congratulations to Republican Larry Hogan, a businessman from Anne Arundel County who put the wood to Gov. Martin "If you can dream it, I can tax it" O'Malley's designated successor, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown. I don't think Brown's defeat bodes well for Democrat hopes in 2016, especially for Hillary Clinton. All the Democrat rock stars campaigned for Brown, to no avail:

Shortly after midnight, Brown conceded a race that he lost despite the strong support of the state’s Democratic establishment and visits to Maryland in the closing weeks of the campaign by President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Maryland didn't much care about what the Obamas and the Clintons wanted it to do. Folks here are tired of Democrats taxing pretty much everything (we have a rain tax and a flush tax -- think about it):

Hogan’s victory — a repudiation of the eight-year tenure of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) — means that Annapolis will return to divided government for the first time since 2006. It remains to be seen how much Hogan and his running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Boyd Rutherford, will be able to accomplish with a Democratic-controlled legislature. Their victory sent a strong message that Marylanders had grown weary of the tax increases enacted under O’Malley, which Hogan harped on throughout the campaign.

Because taxing everything is what Democrats do, the fact that a deep blue state like Maryland has lost patience with that approach might be a bad sign for Dems in 2016. God, I hope so.