President Donald Trump stands at the center of everything in Washington these days — and as voters prepare to vote in Maryland’s June 23 General Assembly primaries, he seems to be at the center there, too.
State Senate President Bill Ferguson — a Democrat who hasn’t had a primary opponent since 2014 — is facing a spirited challenge from Bobby LaPin, a veteran who became a sailboat captain and social media personality. LaPin criticizes Ferguson for standing in the way of Democrats who wanted to deprive Trump of the state’s lone Republican seat in the House of Representatives – a move that Ferguson is now reconsidering.
Statewide, Democratic candidates are battling over who will work hardest to combat a presidential administration that has eliminated about 29,700 federal jobs in the state.
Perhaps for that reason, Republican candidates in Maryland focus on the state’s issues rather than federal issues — while steering clear of even mentioning Trump’s name.
Survey responses from 141 of the 235 General Assembly candidates with competitive primaries — featured in a voter guide assembled by the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism — show a slew of concerns about Maryland’s handling of federal issues ranging from the economy to immigration enforcement.
Maryland’s focus on national issues doesn’t surprise Mike Hanmer, director of UMD’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.
“We really are in a period of heightened awareness and sensitivity to what’s going on,” Hanmer said. “Part of that is just the sheer number of changes that are being made at the federal level — or at least attempted — and the severity.”
Ferguson’s challenge
In normal times, Marylanders wouldn’t expect their State Senate president, who’s been in the General Assembly since 2011 and in his leadership role for six years, to face a vociferous challenge from a guy who passed time during the pandemic by posting videos of himself singing while nearly nude.
But these are not normal times — and Ferguson faces a fight because he insisted on the normal rule of order.
With Trump pushing Republican-led state legislatures to redraw congressional maps to benefit the GOP, Democratic governors such as Gavin Newsom of California and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia fought back by insisting their states draw new district lines to add more Democratic seats.
Such redistricting efforts typically only happen after the decennial census, but Gov. Wes Moore wanted Maryland to redraw its district lines, too. He backed a map that would have threatened Rep. Andy Harris of the Eastern Shore, the state’s lone Republican member of the House of Representatives.
Ferguson resisted. After House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries met with him to push the new Maryland congressional map, Ferguson said: “It’s precisely because we want Leader Jeffries in the majority that most members in the Maryland Senate Democratic Caucus do not support moving forward with mid-cycle redistricting that will backfire in our state courts and lose Democrats in Congress.”
Ferguson’s refusal to allow the Senate to take up redistricting during this year’s regular session gave an opening to LaPin in Baltimore City’s District 46. LaPin backed the plan to add a Democratic House seat in Maryland.
“It’s not only the state legislature’s job to make sure life is affordable and safe,” LaPin said in an interview with LNN. “Redistricting is an example where the power of the state legislatures are just all-encompassing.”
After Ferguson blocked the redistricting plan, Moore issued a round of General Assembly endorsements — and pointedly left Ferguson off the list.
Now, though, Ferguson is reconsidering the redistricting issue, saying he may call a special General Assembly session to consider the matter. The reason? The recent Supreme Court decision reinterpreting the Voting Rights Act, which has allowed several southern states to redraw their maps to eliminate Black-majority districts and enhance Republican chances in the fall.
“My job has been the same from day one: protect Maryland in the fight against Donald Trump,” Ferguson said in a statement. “That’s why I held the line on Maryland’s 7-1 map. I wasn’t willing to gamble Democratic seats on a legal fight we could lose.”
Now, though, Ferguson said: “The rules have changed.”
“Maryland must respond as the ground shifts under us,” he added. “I’m in active conversations with my caucus about a special session and constitutional amendment to address the 2022 Maryland court redistricting decision and new U.S. Supreme Court (Voting Rights Act) decision, with the aim of putting this before Maryland voters in November.”
Democrats rip Trump
Many other Democratic primary races have become contests of who can stand out as the toughest opponent to Trump’s movement while addressing Maryland’s affordability issues.
“The Trump administration’s dangerous policies and actions have made Marylanders less safe while increasing prices for gas, electricity bills, prescription drugs and childcare,” State Senate Majority Leader Nancy King, who is running for reelection for District 39 in Montgomery County, said in the survey. “Now, more than ever, Marylanders rely on the state government to keep them safe and provide essential services.”
One of King’s Democratic primary challengers, Amar Mukunda, agreed fixing Maryland’s affordability and dealing with Trump is one of his highest priorities.
“I am both deeply concerned and deeply optimistic about our future,” Mukunda said. “I come from an immigrant family; too many of us are living in fear as Trump unleashes a wave of hatred. … I grew up struggling in this county, moving eight times before finishing high school; I understand how skyrocketing costs are disrupting families. … I’m running because I know we can meet these challenges — if we do things differently.”
Other General Assembly challengers said personally experiencing these issues is what motivated them to start their campaigns.
Alicia Contreras-Donello, a Democratic candidate for District 14 in Montgomery County, said she started her venture into local politics after losing her job when the Trump administration closed the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“When my agency was dismantled, my public service mission didn’t end,” Contreras-Donello said. “I brought it home. … I am running to lower costs for families, strengthen education and workforce development, grow thriving healthy and safe communities and build an economy and government that works for everyone.”
Other Democratic candidates said Maryland’s struggles started before Trump’s first term.
“Too many people feel like our economy isn’t working for them and our democracy isn’t responding to them,” said Spencer Dixon, a Democratic House of Delegates candidate for District 32 in Anne Arundel County. “While these feelings have never been more true than they are today, they didn’t start the day Donald Trump strolled down his golden escalator over a decade ago. … I’m proud that we have stood up to Trump and worked to protect our citizens from some of his most harmful policies, but there’s more we can be doing.”
Many candidates referenced the increase of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state as a motivator for their campaigns.
“I refuse to stand by idly while ICE prepares a massive operation to snatch my neighbors off the streets and send them across the state to an illegal detention center in the county where I was raised,” said Democrat Craig Hayes, who is running for the District 22 seat in Prince George’s County. “I believe our ongoing constitutional crisis needs a new generation of state leaders who are willing to propose bold policy solutions to not only protect but strengthen our democracy.”
Republicans go local
As Democrats focus on the Trump administration’s role in the state’s economic issues, Republicans have pointed to state taxes and fees, not mentioning the federal government’s impact in Maryland.
“I am running for reelection to the House of Delegates to continue cutting taxes, protecting our second amendment, lowering utility rates and eliminating red tape,” said Del. Kevin Hornberger of District 35B in Cecil County. “I will continue pushing back on the majority party’s tax and spend policies while making this an affordable place to raise a family.”
Other Republican challengers echoed calls for better oversight when it comes to the budget.
“Taxes and fees must be reduced to reduce the stress on residents but still bring in enough to sustain the state,” said Larry Novak, a Republican running in District 42B in Baltimore County. “Transparency must be reintroduced in Annapolis. We are struggling under a huge, negative deficit. Accountability seems to have disappeared, and the constituents have suffered because of it.”
Other candidates, like Jake Taylor, who’s running for a House seat in District 34B in Harford County, said they want to see more conservative representation in the General Assembly to prevent state overreach in local communities.
“Local government is where the rubber meets the road,” Taylor said. “It’s where trash gets collected, criminals get arrested, streets get paved, snow gets plowed and people’s voices get most heard. The rising tide to increase financial burdens on local governments while stripping them of responsibility and authority over their own backyards is a recipe for disaster.”
Republican incumbents like Del. April Rose, of District 5 in Carroll and Frederick counties, agreed they wanted to maintain a conservative voice in the Assembly.
“I enjoy serving my constituents, helping to solve problems and to be a voice for conservatives in the state of Maryland,” Rose said. “That point of view is needed in this very liberal state.”
One of her challengers, Sallie Taylor, another Republican District 5 candidate, said current representatives aren’t doing enough to fight against the Democratic majority.
“I love Maryland and hate the disastrous path the Democrats have put us on,” Taylor said. “Unlike those running for delegate in 5th District, I don’t have a job, my children are grown and I can … devote 365 days a year to serve and defend Maryland against the centralized progressive policies of the majority party, which are driving both retirees and young professionals away and making it impossible to start and/or to maintain a thriving business.”
While focusing their attention on state-specific policies, Republican candidates who responded to the LNN questionnaire rarely mentioned the president. Asked to name a public figure they admire and explain why, only two named Trump: Del. Bob Long and Bobby “Al Jolson” Berger, a former police officer and entertainer who for years portrayed Jolson, a vaudeville star a century ago, in blackface. Both Long and Berger are running in Baltimore County’s District 6.
Meanwhile, six of the GOP candidates cited the late President Ronald Reagan as the public figure they admire most, while three named the never-Trump former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.