State Roundup: New nationwide horseracing regs worry Maryland horsemen; Harris, Szeliga favor suspending state gas tax

State Roundup: New nationwide horseracing regs worry Maryland horsemen; Harris, Szeliga favor suspending state gas tax

Maryland horsemen say federal rules have been rushed into place and are full of logical inconsistencies. Image by Clarence Alford from Pixabay

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FEDERAL REGS TO GOVERN MARYLAND HORSERACING: After decades of debate and calls for reform, the thoroughbred racing industry will be governed by uniform federal regulations starting Friday, a prospect that has inspired widespread worry among Maryland horsemen, who say the rules have been rushed into place and are full of logical inconsistencies. Childs Walker/The Baltimore Sun.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRIMARY ELECTION: Maryland’s once delayed 2022 primary election is finally upon us. As you make plans to head to the polls or your local ballot drop box, here’s what you need to know. For one, today is the deadline to register to vote. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.

  • Those using the online registration system must submit their completed voter registration application to register, change party affiliation or update their address by 11:59 p.m. today. Staff/The Daily Record.

REP. HARRIS, DEL. SZELIGA FAVOR SUSPENDING STATE GAS TAX: Maryland Republican lawmakers at the state and federal level are urging Democrats to act to lower gas prices. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.

  • With Maryland’s gas tax scheduled to increase automatically by about 7 cents this week, the state’s only Republican member of Congress said Monday that while he doesn’t support reigning in the 18-cent federal gas tax, Maryland officials should suspend the state-level tax for the rest of the year. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.

GUIDE TO THE HOUSE & SENATE RACES: Here is a voters guide for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. These candidates are also covered in other voters guides linked to. Staff/MarylandReporter.

GOVERNOR CANDIDATE PROFILE: DOUG GANSLER: The last time Doug Gansler ran for governor eight years ago, things didn’t go as planned. Gansler, then the state’s attorney general, got trounced in the Democratic primary that year, with just 24% of the vote to winner Anthony Brown’s 51%. Gansler retreated from public political life. Now he’s back. The question is whether Maryland Democrats, humbled by losing three of the last five governor’s races, are willing to welcome a candidate with his baggage. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

A DAY AT WORK FOR PETER FRANCHOT: Comptroller Peter Franchot has always taken a hands-on, face-to-face approach with his job, traveling around the state and handing out various awards. During the campaign season as he runs for the Democratic nomination for governor, has this gotten to be too much? Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.

POLL: SCHULZ, COX IN STATISTICAL TIE: In Maryland’s Republican primary campaign for governor, the top two candidates — Dan Cox and Kelly Schulz — are statistically tied with a large portion of voters still undecided, according to a new poll. Cox, a state delegate from Frederick County, received 25% support and Schulz, a former state secretary of commerce, received 22% support of 414 likely Republican voters. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

POLL: PEREZ, MOORE, FRANCHOT IN DEAD HEAT: Maryland’s top three Democratic candidates for governor are essentially tied as they head into the final weeks of the primary campaign, according to a new poll. Of Democratic voters who’ve made up their minds and said they are likely to vote, 16% support Peter Franchot, 14% support Wes Moore and 14% support Tom Perez — all well within the margin of error of 4.9%, making the race a statistical dead heat. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.

POLL: DEMS SAY STATE HEADING IN RIGHT DIRECTION: Democratic voters in Maryland were optimistic about the state’s current trajectory, according to a phone poll conducted by Goucher College in mid-June. Only about 36% of Democrats think the state is on the ‘wrong track,’ while 63% of Republicans felt the same way. Kristen Mosbrucker/WYPR-FM.

  • Goucher College Poll, in partnership with The Baltimore Banner and WYPR, contacted 501 Democrats and 508 Republicans age 18 or older by landline and cellphone from June 15-19. The survey has a margin of error of 4.4%. John O’Connor/The Baltimore Banner.

DONATIONS POUR INTO ABORTION RIGHTS GROUPS IN STATE: The U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent has prompted donations large and small to aid those in Maryland and from out of state seeking an abortion. Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Sun.

HARRIS BACKS ‘FETAL HEARTBEAT’ ABORTION BAN: U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican who represents the first district, said he would support a national abortion ban if a fetus has a heartbeat. Medical experts have taken issue with the term “fetal heartbeat,” saying embryos haven’t developed a heart so early in a pregnancy. Heather Mizeur, one of the Democrats vying for the party’s nomination to challenge Harris in the fall, said the congressman wants to take away the abortion rights Marylanders currently have. John Lee/WYPR-FM.

SCOTT, CARDIN PUSH VOTER REGISTRATION: Mayor Brandon Scott, flanked Monday by advocates for getting young voters to the polls, implored Baltimoreans to exercise their constitutional right in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin and others joined him on the eve of Tuesday’s statewide voter registration deadline. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.

POLITICAL NOTES: Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner came out in support of former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez’s bid for governor on Monday. Perez was the first of the leading Democratic candidates for governor out with a TV ad on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court killed Roe v. Wade on Friday (Franchot aired an ad on the topic last month after a draft court opinion doing away with Roe was leaked). The campaign of Anthony Brown responded to a negative ad by rival Katie Curran in their race for attorney general, noting that he has experience with multi-party, class-action and complex legal cases in state and federal courts, and in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Josh Kurtz, Bruce DePuyt and Danielle E. Gaines/Maryland Matters.

SHERIFF CANDIDATE DENOUNCES OATH KEEPERS: Jim Holsinger, a candidate for Washington County sheriff in the upcoming primary election, said that after being convinced by a fellow officer to become a member back when the Oath Keepers had barely formed in 2009, he didn’t have much connection with them afterward. He said he never went to any meetings nor was he contacted by any of the other members. “The organization has definitely made a name for themselves in a way that I absolutely … denounce,” Holsinger said. Michael Garcia/The Hagerstown Herald-Mail.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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