Md. General Assembly races: September update on candidates

The 2014 campaign season has started early. This new monthly roundup covers Maryland election news in August and lists every candidate who has filed and most who have announced. Each district is listed by county and, in most cases, incumbents with their status. The districts reflect the new district lines, which have placed some incumbents into the same district.

If we have have missed any candidates who have announced and have a website, but have not officially filed, please email [email protected]. We will update this list in October.

Del. Wendell Beitzel

Del. Wendell Beitzel

Maryland General Assembly

District 1A: Garrett and Allegany (Edwards, Beitzel)

Del. Wendell Beitzel, a Republican, filed for re-election.

District 1B: Allegany (Kelly)

District 1C: Allegany and Washington (Myers is retiring)

The delegate seat is being vacated by Del. Leroy Meyers, who announced in May that he will not seek re-election.

Republican Michael McKay president of the Allegany County Commissioners.

Hancock resident Ray Givens, a Republican.

District 2A: Washington

District 2B: Washington

District 3A: Frederick

Del. Patrick Hogan will not seek re-election and plans to spend more time with his family and explore other career opportunities, reports Bethany Rodgers of the Frederick News-Post.

Darren Wigfield

Darren Wigfield

District 3B: Frederick

Darren Wigfield, a Republican, has announced his run for delegate.

District 4: Frederick, Carroll (Brinkley, Afzali, Hough, Schulz filed)

Mount Airy native and former town councilwoman Wendi Peters is running for delegate.

District 5: Carroll (Getty, Krebs, Ready, Elliott, Stocksdale Krebs has filed.)

Republican County Commissioner Haven Shoemaker has filed, as has Joshua Stonko and incumbent Susan Krebs.

District 6: Baltimore County (Stone retiring, Minnick retiring; Olszewski running for Senate, Weir)

Del. Sonny Minnick announced at the end of August that he is retiring after 23 years, reports Bill Gates in the Dundalk Eagle. Sen. Norman Stone is also retiring.

Dan Liberatore

Dan Liberatore

Del. John Olszewski Jr. is running for the open Senate seat.

Republican Robin Grammer has announced he is running for delegate, as has Bob Long, who was the top Republican candidate in the 2010 General Election.

Dan Liberatore, a Republican, has filed in the delegate race, as has Ric Metzgar, an Essex Republican.

District 7: Baltimore County and Harford (Jennings filed, Impallaria, McDonough; Szeliga filed.)

Incumbent Sen. J.B. Jennings filed Aug. 6 for the Senate seat.

Incumbent Del. Kathy Szeliga, a Republican, has filed, as has Democrat Norman Gifford, a Democrat, filed in June for the delegate seat.

District 8: Baltimore County (Klausmeier, Bromwell, Cluster)

Robin Grammer

Robin Grammer

Republican Christian Miele kicked off his campaign for delegate in August.

District 9: Carroll, Howard (Kittleman runs for executive; Bates for Senate, Miller filed for reelection)

Del. Gail Bates, a West Friendship Republican, is seeking the open Senate seat in District 9. Sen. Allan Kittleman is seeking the county executive seat.

Democrat Dan Medinger announced his candidacy for the Senate seat. At his Aug. 19 announcement, Senate President Mike Miller introduced Medinger and called the seat “winnable” for a Democrat. Medinger, a communications firm owner and former editor of Baltimore’s Catholic Review, described himself as a pro-life and fiscally conservative.

9A: Carroll, Howard (two members, Bates is running for Senate) Incumbent Del. Warren Miller has filed for delegate, as has Trent Kittleman in April, and former Republican congressional nominee Frank Mirabile filed for delegate in July. The two-time congressional candidate said he is running to keep the district in conservative hands, reports Amanda Yeager in the Howard County Times.

9B: Howard (one member) Republican Carol Loveless has announced and filed, Democrat Tom Coale announced in June. Republican Bob Flanagan, a former delegate and secretary of transportation, announces his candidacy Sept. 4.

Christian Miele

Christian Miele

District 10: Baltimore County (Kelley filed, Burns retiring, Jones, Nathan-Pulliam running for Senate in redrawn district 44)

Sen. Delores Kelley filed for re-election in May.

Democrat Rob Johnson filed for delegate.

District 11: Baltimore County (Zirkin; Cardin runs for AG, Morhaim, Stein)

Democratic incumbents Sen. Robert Zirkin, Del. Dan Morhaim and Del. Dana Stein are running as a slate. Del. Jon Cardin is running for attorney general instead of seeking re-election.

Democrat Don Engel is the only candidate who has filed, which he did in April.

District 12: Baltimore County and Howard (Kasemeyer filed; DeBoy, Malone, Bobo all three retiring)

Catonsville resident Rebecca Dongarra has announced for delegate.

Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, a Democrat, filed for reelection in July.

With three open seats, this will be one of the most competitive districts in 2014.

Democrats filed: Brian Bailey, Terri Hill, Eric Ebersole, Clarence Lam 

Democrat Mike Gisriel has not filed or announced, but has a campaign Facebook page. Jim Hyatt has a Facebook page, and will announce soon. At least two more candidates are expected to announce this month.

Danny Eaton

Danny Eaton

District 13: Howard (Robey retiring, Guzzone filed for Senate, Pendergrass, Turner)

Del. Guy Guzzone is seeking the open Senate seat. He filed in July.

Columbia resident Fred Eiland filed in July for delegate.

School board member Janet Siddiqui has announced she will seek a delegate seat, and has been included on the incumbents’ ticket.

Republican Danny Eaton filed for delegate in April.

District 14: Montgomery  (Montgomery, Kaiser, Luedtke, Zucker all filed for re-election)

Sen. Karen Montgomery filed for re-election in April.

Democrat John Paul Evans of Gaithersburg filed for delegate July 31. Evans, 23, works in the information technology department at Children’s Pediatricians and Associates in Silver Spring, reports Sylvia Carignan of the Gazette. Evans is concerned about civil rights and government transparency.

District 15: Montgomery (Garagiola resigning, Dumais, Feldman, Miller)

Del. Brian Feldman is vying for an appointment to the District 15 Senate seat be vacated by Sen. Rob Garagiola.

Leaders of the county’s minority communities see Garagiola’s resignation as an opportunity to send a candidate of color to the state Senate, reports Bill Turque for the Post.

Garagiola’s resignation also has Montgomery leaders worried about his absence on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, reports Kate Alexander for The Gazette.

Bilal Ayyub confirmed on Twitter that he is campaigning for the Senate vacancy, reports Maryland Juice in Juice #2, but he later withdrew his name from consideration. The withdrawal was under pressure from elected officials and activists, reports Bill Turque in the Post.

District 16: Montgomery (Frosh and Frick running for AG, Lee filed for Senate, Kelly)

Aspirations for higher office have produced an open Senate seat and two open delegate seats. All the candidates so far are Democrats.

Del. Susan Lee, a Democrat, filed in July for the Senate seat vacated by Sen. Brian Frosh, who is running for Attorney General.

Bethesda resident Jordan Cooper has announced for delegate.

Marc Korman, a Democrat, is also running for delegate.

Kevin Walling, former communications director for Equality Maryland, the gay marriage advocacy group, announced his candidacy in mid-July.

Hrant Jamgochian has filed for delegate. He also ran in 2010.

Andrew Platt

Andrew Platt

District 17: Montgomery County (Forehand, Barve, Gilchrist, Simmons)

Sen. Jennie Forehand, a Democrat, is planning to run again.

Democrat Andrew Platt filed for delegate Aug. 19.

District 18: Montgomery (Madaleno, Carr, Guitierrez, Waldstreciher)

District 19: Montgomery (Manno, Arora, Cullison, Kramer)

Democrat Marice Morales, an aide to Sen. Roger Manno, filed for delegate August 2.

Democrat Melodye Berry filed in June for delegate. She had run in 2006.

District 20: Montgomery (Raskin, Hixson, Hucker; Mizeur is running for governor)

Democrat Justin Chappell is running for delegate.

Silver Spring resident Will Smith is running for delegate. A community organizer and appointee of President Barack Obama to work at the Department of Homeland Security on one of the department’s advisory councils, Smith said he had the experience needed to be delegate, reports St. John Barned-Smith in the Gazette.

David Moon of Maryland Juice is “not waiting for Superman to fix politics” and is running for delegate, MarylandReporter.com blogged.

District 21: Anne Arundel, Prince George’s (Rosapepe, Barnes, Frush, Pena-Melnyk)

District 22: Prince George’s (Pinksy, Gaines, Healey, Washington)

Rushern L. Baker IV filed for office Aug. 21 and is scheduled to make his first campaign event the Greenbelt Parade on Sept. 2.

District 23: Prince George’s (Peters, 23A Vallentino-Smith, Hubbard 23B Holmes filed, Vallario filed)

District 23A: Prince George’s

Joseph Vallario

Joseph Vallario

District 23B: Prince George’s

Incumbent Del. Marvin E. Holmes, Jr., a Democrat, filed with the Maryland Board of Elections in July.

Del. Joseph Vallario, a Democrat, filed in August.

District 24: Prince George’s (Benson; Howard and Vaughn filed, Swain)

Delegates Carolyn Howard and Michael Vaughn filed in April and June, respectively.

District 25: Prince George’s (Currie, Braveboy, Davis, Griffith)

Tony Jones, a Democrat, filed July 10 for the delegate seat. Jones lives in Upper Marlboro.

District 26: Prince George’s (Muse, Turner, Valderrama, Walker)

Attorney Brian Woolfolk filed July 25 for Senate.

Democrat Vernon Holmes filed for delegate in June.

District 27: Charles, Calvert (Miller)

District 27A: Charles, Calvert (Proctor)

District 27B: Calvert, Prince George’s

District 27C: Calvert (Fisher)

District 28: Charles (Middleton, Jameson, Murphy, Wilson)

Democrat Larry Green filed for delegate in June.

District 29: St. Mary’s, Calvert (Dyson)

Deb Rey

Deb Rey

District 29A: St. Mary’s (Wood)

District 29B: St. Mary’s (Bohanan)

Retired Air Force officer Deb Rey, a Republican, announced for delegate in July.

District 29C: St. Mary’s, Calvert (O’Donnell)

District 30: Anne Arundel (Astle, Busch, George runs for governor, McMillan)

Former Republican congressional candidate Eric Delano Knowles is running for state senate.

District 30A: Anne Arundel (two delegates)

Maria Triandos filed for delegate in April.

District 30B: Anne Arundel

District 31: Anne Arundel (Simonaire, Dwyer, Kipke; Schuh runs for executive)

Democrat Anthony Scott Harman filed for Senate in April.

Del. Don Dwyer is facing calls for resignation after several alcohol-related charges over the past two years. He was arrested and charged with a DUI near Pasadena, and he also pled guilty for operating a boat while drunk during a 2012 crash that left seven people injured, including himself, reports Michael Dresser for The Baltimore Sun. Dwyer told the Sun he plans to seek re-election, but after the DUI some lawmakers were calling for his resignation, reports John Wagner and Maggie Fazeli Fard in the Post. Prior to Dwyer’s DUI arrest, he was involved with a dispute with a neighbor, reports Tim Prudente for the Capital Gazette.

Long-time Anne Arundel businessman and civil leader Gus Kurtz announced in August he is running for delegate. “I’d like to represent my district with honesty and integrity,” Kurtz told David Collins of WBAL.

31B: Anne Arundel (two delegates) Democrat Stan Janor filed for delegate June 21. He ran for delegate in 2010.

District 32: Anne Arundel (DeGrange, Beidle, Love, Sophocleus)

Republican Jesse Mayer filed for delegate in April.

Josh Kiracofe speaks with Red Maryland about his candidacy for delegate. He filed in August.

Ed Reilly

Ed Reilly

District 33:Anne Arundel (Reilly filed; Costa is retiring; McConkey, Vitale)

Sen. Ed Reilly filed in June for the Senate race.

Republican Jeff Gauges filed for delegate in June. Sid Saab announced his candidacy, but did not file. Saab ran in 2010. Republican Nora Keenan also filed for delegate in May.

District 34: Harford (Jacobs is retiring, James, Glass, Rudolph)

Republican Derek Howell, chairman of the Harford County Republican Central Committee, filed for Senate in August, the Dagger reports. “I will fight to repeal and ‘undo’ the nonsense coming out of Annapolis, such as the ‘rain tax’ and the dreadful infringements on our Second Amendment rights,” Howell said.

34A: Harford (two members, Glass, James): Republican Mike Blizzard filed in June.

34B: Harford

Wayne Norman

Wayne Norman

District 35: Harford, Cecil (Glassman runs for executive, Norman, Stifler, McComas)

Del. Wayne Norman is announcing for Glassman’s Senate seat on Tuesday on a ticket with Teresa Reilly for his current House seat in 35B.

UPDATED: Michael A. Dawson, a former Perryville commissioner, filed in July for Senate, promising to be “a champion for individual liberty in Annapolis,” according to the Aegis. (Michael A. Dawson, “MAD Mike,” is not to be confused with Michael W. Dawson, another Perryville resident who has run for Cecil County Commissioner, reports Nancy Schwerzler in the Cecil Times.)

District 35A: Cecil (Rudolph )

District 35B: Harford, Cecil (Stifler)

Andrew Cassilly, a Republican, filed Aug. 22.

District 36: Cecil, Kent, Caroline, Queen Anne’s (Pipkin resigning, Hershey, J. Jacobs, Smigiel)

After the surprise resignation of Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin, the decision for a replacement could be left up to Gov. Martin O’Malley, report Dan Menefee and Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter. Dan Menefee reports with more details about who is interested for MarylandReporter.com, and we also provide a list of 14 people who applied to fill the vacancy.

Republican J.D. Uhler filed for delegate in April.

Cheryl Everman

Cheryl Everman

District 37: Dorchester, Talbot, Wicomico (Colburn, 37A Cane)

Democrat Cheryl Everman filed for Senate in June.

37A: Wicomico County Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes, a Democrat, is running for delegate.

Del. Rudolph Cane, a Democrat, filed for delegate Aug. 21.

District 37B: Talbot, Dorchester, Caroline, Wicomico (Colburn, Eckardt, Haddaway-Riccio runs for lieutenant governor)

Attorney Philip Cronan has announced for the open seat left by Haddaway-Riccio.

District 38A: Somerset, Worcester (Mathias, Otto, McDermott)

Del. Charles James Otto filed July 16 to run in the new single-member District 38A.

District 38B: Wicomico (Mathias, Conway)

38C Worcester (Mathias and two delegates)  Democrat Mike Hindi filed for delegate in April. Republican Mary Beth Carozza filed May 30.

Mary Beth Carozza

Mary Beth Carozza

District 39: Montgomery( King, Barkley, Reznik, Robinson all filed for reelection)

Sen. Nancy King filed for re-election in May, as did delegates Charles Barkley, Kirill Reznik and Shane Robinson, all Democrats.

Xiangfei Cheng, a Republican, filed for delegate on July 10. Cheng, who lives in Montgomery Village, is an instructor at the University of Maryland Medical School as a biomedical science expert and has a M.D. and PhD.

District 40: Baltimore City (Pugh filed, Conaway, Robinson, Tarrant)

Sen. Catherine Pugh filed in May.

Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, a longtime civil rights leader in Baltimore, announced his candidacy for delegate in July.

Rob “Bobby” LaPin, a former Baltimore City teacher and U.S. Army veteran, became the first Democrat in the district to officially file his candidacy for delegate.

On Aug. 20, Democrats Quianna Cooke and Del. Shawn Tarrant filed for delegate.

Lisa Gladden

Lisa Gladden

District 41: Baltimore City (Gladden filed, Carter, Oaks, Rosenberg Carter and Rosenberg filed)

Sen. Lisa Gladden filed for re-election in April.

Del. Sandy Rosenberg filed for re-election Aug. 29.

Del. Jill Carter, a Democrat, filed for re-election on July 18. Michael Pearson filed for delegate in May.

District 42 (Brochin, 42A Lafferty, new 42B, Aumann; Frank retiring, Boteler, Kach runs for council)

Republican Chris West is running for delegate. West, a longtime Baltimore lawyer, is a former executive director of the Maryland State Republican Party and a former chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Party.

Del. Susan Aumann filed Aug. 21 for District 42B delegate.

District 43: Baltimore City (Conway filed, Anderson filed, McIntosh, Washington)

Sen. Joan Carter Conway filed for re-election in June.

Joan Carter Conway

Joan Carter Conway

Del. Curt Anderson, a Democrat, filed for re-election on July 3.

District 44: Baltimore City and County (Jones-Rodwell, Haynes, Mitchell, Stukes)

Del. Emmett Burns, now in the redrawn District 44 but formerly of District 10, is retiring.

Del. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam has filed for Senate. She is formerly of District 10.

44A: Baltimore City (one member) Del. Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. filed July 22, but he is rumored to be considering becoming the gubernatorial running mate of Attorney General Doug Gansler, according to Fraser Smith on WYPR.

Del. Keith Haynes, a Baltimore Democrat, filed Aug. 28.

44B: Baltimore County (two members) Rainier Harvey, Charles E. Sydnor, III, and Pat Young have filed. More information is on Young’s campaign website.

District 45: Baltimore City (McFadden filed, Branch, Glenn, Harper )

Sen. Nathaniel McFadden filed in May for re-election.

Cory McCray

Cory McCray

Cory McCray has been running since May.

District 46: Baltimore City (Ferguson, Clippinger, Hammen, McHale)

Civil rights lawyer Brooke Lierman, a Fells Point Democrat, is running for delegate. (Speculation is that Del. Brian McHale is retiring.)

District 47: Prince George’s (Ramirez, Ivey, Niemann, Summers)

District 47A: Prince George’s

District 47B: Prince George’s

About The Author

Len Lazarick

[email protected]

Len Lazarick was the founding editor and publisher of MarylandReporter.com and is currently the president of its nonprofit corporation and chairman of its board He was formerly the State House bureau chief of the daily Baltimore Examiner from its start in April 2006 to its demise in February 2009. He was a copy editor on the national desk of the Washington Post for eight years before that, and has spent decades covering Maryland politics and government.

3 Comments

  1. Linda H.

    You have an error in the listing and link on Senate dist 35– Michael A. Dawson has filed. You listed the name as “mike Dawson” and linked to an old web page for another Mike Dawson– Michael W. Dawson– who has filed to run for Cecil County Council in 2014. There has been too much confusion in Cecil County over the name’s the same candidates. Please correct your link and include the full name of the Senate candidate– Michael A. Dawson.

  2. Ray

    Cory McCray in the 45th!!!

  3. Bill

    Dan Medinger D-SD9 has also announced for the Senate seat being vacated by Kittleman.