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About 100 Talbot County Republicans gathered at the Miles River Yacht Club to eat a meal, connect over shared interests, and hear from speakers including Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) and keynote speaker Ivan Raiklin, a pro-Trump Republican activist.

“I think Donald Trump is going to win,� Harris said to the crowd, which featured several local leaders and prominent community members. “His lead may be too big to rig, but they will still try. … The U.S. Senate I am really excited about because we are going to win the majority of the Senate, no question about it.�

Harris, who was recently made the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, encouraged the voters in the room to vote early in the 2024 election, expressing concerns about safety at the polls on Election Day. Early voting in Maryland began Oct. 24 and runs through Oct. 31.

Later in the evening, Harris engaged with Raiklin during a question-and-answer session, during which the representative voiced support for North Carolina legislators allocating the state’s presidential electors to Donald Trump, even before the popular vote is complete. In a video of the interaction, which Raiklin posted to his X account following the event, Harris said such a move “makes a lot of sense� in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which devastated western parts of the state.

Having North Carolina’s legislature assign the state’s 16 Electoral College votes has been proposed by some as a potential measure to combat voting difficulties in storm-ravaged areas. Harris said the move made less sense in other states with Republican-controlled legislatures, like New Hampshire and Arizona, which were identified by Raiklin in his keynote speech.

“It looks like just a power play,� Harris said. “In North Carolina, it’s legitimate. There are a lot of people that aren’t going to get to vote and it may make the difference in that state.�

Harris said in a statement sent to media outlets Friday that “every legal vote should be counted. I would hope everyone could agree that legal American voters whose lives were devastated by the recent storms should not be disenfranchised in the upcoming voting process.�

The interaction has garnered a lot of buzz on the internet, as has Raiklin’s keynote speech from the event, which was posted in full to his X account Thursday evening.

Raiklin gave a multimedia talk at the event. He is a former Green Beret, has a constitutional law degree and has been an intelligence officer. He calls himself a “deep state marauder.� He has appeared on Tucker Carlson’s blog and Alex Jones’ InfoWars.

“Everybody here has courage,� Raiklin said to the Republicans gathered in Talbot County. “At some point in time, you decided enough was enough and it’s time to stop the tyrannical federal government overreach.�

The event stirred emotions. According to Talbot County Sheriff’s Office report, Ferdinand Joseph Ricci, 58, of Alexandria, Virginia assaulted another attendee in front of Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble, a Republican who was attending the event. The Sheriff’s Office said Ricci was charged with assault and taken to the Talbot County Central Booking facility after being removed from the dinner. It was unclear if he was an attendee of the event or there to protest it.

But this did not dampen the attitudes of the attendees of the dinner, many of whom expressed optimism about election outcomes in the final weeks of the 2024 election cycle.

Gordana Schifanelli, a lawyer who ran to be lieutenant governor with Dan Cox, said, “I think the Republican Party is exceptionally energized and educated this time around… I am concerned the Democrats will be throwing a fit, burning and looting. I am concerned about the violence that could ensue if they don’t get their way.�

Sen. Johnny Mautz (R-Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, Wicomico) quoted Abraham Lincoln in his speech to the crowd, one of the annual dinner’s namesakes, and said, “We of the Republican Party have a special debt of gratitude to Abraham Lincoln. It was his sincere belief and unfailing devotion to a great principle which brought into being a new political pledge to make all men free and equal.�