Baltimore County delegate says campaign is not Republican backed

ESSEX, Md - Republican Maryland Delegate, Pat McDonough, will launch Thursday what he calls a grassroots campaign to defeat the "Dream Act".

The Baltimore County Republican spoke with ABC2 News Wednesday night about the campaign that he will launch Thursday afternoon. A press conference is planned for noon in Essex.

McDonough led the fight to get the referendum issue placed on the November 6th ballot after he and supporters collected more than 130,000 signatures that were needed in a few months.

The petition is still being fought in the court system, but McDonough feels that it will be defeated.

"The ball game is not over," McDonough told ABC2 News. "We only won the first half of the football game. Now we gotta win the Super Bowl by campaigning and winning this election on November 6th, 2012."

McDonough says despite it being illegal for companies to hire illegal workers, should they get a degree, it's going to cost a lot for the state.

"It's a taxpayer funded benefit for tuition discounts for illegal aliens," McDonough said. "People who are not supposed to be here legally."

McDonough says the effort to defeat Senate Bill 167, or the Dream Act, is not Republican backed.

"People have to remember that when we did the petition drive, we collected 132,000 signatures in less than two months and more than half of them were not Republican," McDonough said. "So this is an issue a lot of people care about regardless of party."