In the most important Baltimore suburban counties, Bush won: 57.41% (Baltimore County) 56.49% (Howard), 66.03% (Harford) 64% (Anne Arundel) and 71.63% (Carroll County). Also H. W. was able to get a high enough margin of victory in the rural counties to win unlike in 1980 where Carter was able to do well enough in the Eastern Shore and SOMD to outvote the not-PG suburban counties.
This is pretty much the case. Compare 1988 to 2008: Bush ran extremely well in traditionally Democratic Baltimore County, dominated in the state's rural counties, and nearly won (!) Montgomery County, which was the old bastion of liberal GOP politics but is most certainly not a conservative area in any way.
The causes? I think crime was a huge factor, as was the gun control referendum in terms of driving up turnout in the conservative, rural areas of the state.
Finally, Maryland is a great example of a state that flippped from marginally Dem to strong Dem do in large part to the Clinton-era realignment. A lot of voters in the DC burbs fillped based on social issues and the perception that a) the GOP was the party of the South/Evangelicals and b) that the Democrats were tough enough on crime and sensible on economic issues. The Bush and Obama presidencies have further cemented this tend.
