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Leaders within Maryland's Republican Party said Saturday that the GOP needs to unite over economic issues and steer clear of setting policy on social issues.

"The problem isn't that the Republicans aren't good in Annapolis. The problem is that there isn't enough of them. And if we start attacking the ones we have, we won't get any more," Senate Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman said.

Kittleman (R-Dist. 9) of West Friendship addressed 130 Montgomery County Republicans on rebuilding the party for the 2010 statewide elections.

"We need to focus on what holds us together, if we focus on economic conservatism, the great majority of Maryland is Republican. We lose them when we go off on other things," Kittleman said.

The party's job, he said, is to elect Republicans.

"We don't have the luxury of being divided in the future, so when the Republican Party sets policy, that almost sets a litmus test," he said.

Charles Lollar, who chairs the GOP's Commission for Citizen Tax Relief, also spoke of avoiding social issues.

"It's OK to be a party of principles and a party of morals," Lollar said. "But the Republican Party is not the place for evangelizing. We have churches for that."

Kittleman said the party needed to embrace technology, which will help the GOP connect with young people who would relate to the party's message of keeping the government out of their lives.

The party can't expect to raise as much money as the Democrats, but it can recruit strong candidates who are willing to work hard to get elected. The GOP also needs to develop an early-voting strategy that can work to the party's advantage, he said.

Both criticized Gov. Martin O'Malley's handling of the economic downturn, seeing tax increases and greater spending as an opportunity for 2010.

Lollar supported Republican efforts in the General Assembly to pass protections to make it harder to approve tax increases. And he favored changing the word "tax" to "family funds."

"These are family funds coming out of our pocket," he said.