U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer’s decision to retire at the end of his term continues to have a ripple effect in downballot races.
Two state lawmakers involved in a proposed midcycle redraw of the state’s eight congressional districts are looking at new campaigns.
Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) is giving up the House seat he has held for four terms and is expected to file Tuesday morning for the Senate seat held by state Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles), in anticipation of Ellis filing to run for Hoyer’s seat.
Ellis so far is keeping his cards close to the vest, saying in two interviews last week that he was considering such a run but had not yet made a decision. On Sunday, however, he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission establishing an Ellis for Congress account.
In a text exchange on Monday, Ellis acknowledged the federal filling but said he had made no final decision on a run for Congress or a return to the state Senate.
Wilson, who turns 54 on Friday, is a former prosecutor and Army combat veteran. He served as chair of the Economic Matters Committee for more than four years and was a contender to succeed former House Speaker Adrienne Jones, after she abruptly stepped down from the position in December.
Jones’ successor as speaker, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, moved Wilson off his committee and out of his chairmanship, naming him House Parliamentarian.
“People asked me time and time again, would I run for Senate? And the answer was always, why would I leave being a chair to run for Senate?” Wilson said. “But it’s not like when I lost my chairmanship, that I was like, ‘OK, now I’m going to run for Senate.’ That wasn’t it at all, because my senator was still there. But it looks like, for all intents and purposes, that he’s going to be running for Congress. It means it’s an open seat.”
Typically delegates who rise to the level of chair or vice chair of a committee would not give an open Senate seat a second glance. Wilson described the “switch around” and the loss of his committee, coupled with Hoyer’s departure as “serendipitous.” Wilson said he spoke to Ellis about his plans a week ago, which Ellis confirmed.
“Losing my chairmanship, while it was painful, you know, I tell people all the time, it’s not power if it can be taken; it’s at best opportunity,” Wilson said.
Wilson recently served on the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission. From that, he sponsored House Bill 488, which redraws all eight congressional districts, making it more likely that a Democrat could unseat Republican Rep. Andy Harris in the 1st District, the only seat held by a Republican in the state’s congressional delegation.
Wilson led floor debate on the bill, that easily passed the House but is stalled in the Senate.
During his time in the House, Wilson has been deeply involved in energy issues including a 2025 package that included the potential for more nuclear power generation in the state.
He was also the lead sponsor of the Child Victim’s Act, which lifted the statute of limitations for survivors of institutionalized child sex abuse to sue government and private groups. The bill was personal for Wilson who was both a foster child and the victim of child sexual abuse. But it also opened the door to roughly 12,000 such lawsuits against state agencies, carrying a potential cost of more than $10 billion.
Wilson also was involved in crafting Maryland’s recreational cannabis laws to ensure Black entrepreneurs could obtain licenses. Subsequent legislation limited the ability of local governments to restrict where cannabis growing, processing and retail facilities could be located.
Hoyer, 86, announced a month ago that he would not seek re-election, ending six decades in Maryland politics, including a stint as Maryland Senate president. He was first elected to Congress in 1981, later rising to the No. 2 House Democrat.
Hoyer’s retirement spurred a flurry of downballot officeholders like Ellis, who are giving up their seats to seek higher office and triggering another series of filings.
Ellis, wrapping up his second term in the Senate, signaled his strong interest in joining the increasingly crowded Democratic field in an interview last week.
“I haven’t made that formal decision yet. That’s coming, hopefully with additional prayers and meditation and talking to my family,” he said, “100% on board my family, sure, but you know, I just want to kind of really spend this weekend with them. ”
Ellis said he’s also spent time talking to fundraising and campaign consultants and pollsters.
“So it’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes or onto the surface to make a final decision coming up in the next few days,” Ellis said.
But he said he would likely not wait until the Feb. 24 filing deadline.
“I’m very close to making a decision,” he said. “It will not come at the 11th hour.”
Ellis, then a political unknown, filed to run for the state Senate at the deadline in 2018 and unseated Thomas “Mac” Middleton, a six-term veteran and the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, in the Democratic primary.
Ellis said he began considering a run for Congress after Hoyer’s retirement announcement.
“I tell you, I was really 50-50, on the fence,” Ellis said.
That changed after Ellis launched a one-man protest over HB 488, the redistricting bill that has been consigned to the Senate Rules Committee. Ellis is demanding that a full Senate vote on the bill, and said he will abstain from quorum calls until that happens. The move is mostly symbolic since his presence on the floor counts toward a quorum. Ellis is still participating in floor debates and votes on bills.
The protest gained him some national attention, including an appearance on the “Roland Martin Unfiltered” show online. Ellis said Hoyer called him following the floor protest.
“He said, you know, Arthur, John Lewis will be so proud of you. You’re making good trouble with that speech on the floor. And I’ve known John Lewis,” Ellis said, becoming visibly emotional as he described the phone call. “To put my name next to John Lewis’ name, that’s like just the biggest honor, right, the icon of freedom, and who left, you know, the civil rights movement, to serve in Congress.”
Hoyer, whose office confirmed the call with Ellis, has endorsed Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s) to succeed him.
“So, that call was like, wow, you know?” Ellis said. “I’m not going to be able to walk in Hoyer’s or Lewis’ shoe, but as long as they point that shoe in the right direction, which, you know, they have, I think I’ll be doing good.”