Daniel Vovak, Republican Activist and 'Wig Man,' Succumbs to Cancer

Obituary courtesy of Montgomery Gazette, by Alan Brody

Friends remember candidate for U.S. Senate and county executive

Daniel Vovak, 39, the eccentric Republican activist best known for wearing a Colonial-era wig during his U.S. Senate campaign in 2006, died Saturday morning in Rockville.

Vovak, of Bethesda, was diagnosed with a rare form of stage 4 cancer in December and hadbeen in and out of Suburban Hospital in Bethesda in recent months. He spent the final weeks of his life in hospice care at Casey House in Rockville, according to friends.

"He always wanted to touchso many lives and get a lot of people involved," said Lisa R. Neuder, secretary of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, on which Vovak served since September. "He really loved Montgomery County and he was proud that this was his home."

Vovak attended the Maryland Republican Party convention in Ocean City this month and delivered a measured speech urging Republicans to put their differences aside and work toward winning elections.

"It was not easy for him to go there," said Mark Uncapher, Montgomery County Republican Central Committee chairman.

Vovak irked the GOP establishment by entering the U.S. Senate race in 2006 and being one of the most vocal critics of then-Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (D), who was regarded as the party's best hope of winning the seat. During the campaign, he became known for the powdery coiffure and even appeared on the ballot as "Daniel 'Wig Man' Vovak." He finished fourth out of 10 candidates, tallying just more than 4,000 votes.

He unsuccessfully ran for state party chairman in 2009 and launched a blog in February 2010 called Montgomery County Daily that covered a wide range of issues, but focused mostly on local politics.

Shortly thereafter, he announced his campaign for county executive. He would lose the Republican nomination to Douglas E. Rosenfeld by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio. But he also won an at-large seat on the GOP central committee in the same election and immediately became engaged, Uncapher said.

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