ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland's official song may include a line about "Northern scum" left over from the Civil War era, but the state isn't feeling so Southern anymore.
These days, leaders feel they've got more in common with states to the north.
In one sign of the shift, lawmakers successfully petitioned to move from the Southern Region of the Council of State Governments to the Eastern Region.
That way, they'll be able to trade ideas with fellow officials from Pennsylvania, New York, and other states they consider more like-minded.
Maryland supporters of the change mention the state's modern political differences with states in the South. Maryland is a solid blue state, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 2-1.
