State Roundup: Schulz calls out Dems for buying ads for her GOP opponent

State Roundup: Schulz calls out Dems for buying ads for her GOP opponent

Kelly Schulz, Republican candidate for governor, speaks at an Annapolis rally Thursday condemning the Democratic Governors Association for buying ads supporting her GOP opponent, Del. Dan Cox. Screenshot

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DEMS BUY ADS FOR SCHULZ PRIMARY OPPONENT: Pushing back on a national trend among Democratic groups, Maryland gubernatorial candidate Kelly Schulz is raising the alarm over an effort to help her GOP primary opponent with $1 million in television ads. The Democratic Governors Association is funneling money into the state to support Cox in the primary expecting that he will be easier for the eventual Democratic nominee to beat in November. Hannah Gaskill and Sam Janesch/Baltimore Sun

  • The ad buy is a sign, she said, that Democrats sense their best shot at winning back the governor’s mansion in Maryland is to face an ultra-conservative Republican backed by former President Donald Trump. Schulz said Democrats are trying to ensure her opponent Del. Dan Cox’s nomination to ensure a Democratic governor in November. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record
  • At the press conference, Schulz and Gov. Larry Hogan were undeterred by shouts and catcalls from supporters of rival Dan Cox — and Cox himself. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters

GAS TAX HIKE BEGINS: Beginning Friday, the state gas tax will increase from 36 to 43 cents per gallon — a rate tied to inflation increases. Cadence Quaranta/Baltimore Banner

  • Comptroller Peter Franchot said he thinks state lawmakers will wait until after July’s primary election before considering statewide relief for drivers, with the possibility of a special session after that. General Assembly leaders have given no indication they would hold such a session. Amy Simpson/WBFF
  • On Thursday, Governor Larry Hogan released a video calling on leaders of the General Assembly to take action, hold a special session and vote for a gas tax holiday. But the Maryland General Assembly has already said they won’t call a special session to address the gas tax. Annie Rose Ramos

SUPREME COURT RULING MEANS STATE CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORTS MORE VITAL: The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision limiting the EPA’s ability to rein in power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions won’t affect Maryland’s own accelerating emissions reduction goals — but makes such efforts by states all the more important in addressing the threats of climate change, advocates said. Scott Dance/Baltimore Sun

  • Just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the EPA lacks authority to broadly regulate greenhouse gas emissions, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore stood on the banks of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, surrounded by environmental leaders, promising to take swift and bold action on climate change if elected. Other candidates also spoke out Thursday. Josh Kurtz and Jacob Fischler/Maryland Matters

CRAB LIMITS: Chesapeake Bay crabbers will have reduced harvest allowances for the rest of this year under limits adopted last week in response to a worrisome drop in the Bay’s population of the popular crustaceans. Jeremy Cox and Timothy Wheeler of the Bay Journal report in MarylandReporter.com.

NASTY COUNCIL RACE IN HOWARD: The Democratic race for Howard County Council in West Columbia’s District 4 has gotten nastier with a new mailer attacking incumbent Council member Deb Jung that manipulates an image of a civil rights march to criticize some of her votes. The HoCoWatchdogs blog has the story.

MCDONOUGH CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANOR THEFT FOR SIGN STEALING: Pat McDonough, a former Maryland state delegate, has been charged with misdemeanor theft after allegations he stole the campaign sign of a rival in the Republican primary race for Baltimore County executive. Alison Knezevich/Baltimore Sun

  • The Baltimore County Republican Central Committee (BCRCC) formally voted last month to condemn McDonough for the alleged theft of an opponent’s campaign sign. The Dundalk Eagle

NEW LAWS TAKE EFFECT FRIDAY: There are 264 new state laws taking effect Friday, July 1, and a glimpse shows they include transportation, expanding access to abortions and providing more training for clinicians interested in performing abortion services, new testing on PFAS chemicals leading up to a ban in 2024, increased police accountability and new rules on restraining kids in classrooms. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun

JOHNNY O ENDORSES PEREZ FOR GOV: Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. is backing Tom Perez for governor, throwing his support behind the former U.S. labor secretary as the highly competitive Democratic primary race enters its final weeks. Alison Knezevich and Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun

  • After saying repeatedly he would not make an endorsement in the Democratic Gubernatorial race, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Friday threw his support behind former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez. John Lee/WYPR
  • Olszewski, leader of the state’s third largest county by population, said that while he didn’t plan to endorse, Perez “distinguished himself as someone who has put forward needed ideas for my region and for the entire state.” Karina Elwood/Washington Post

POLITICAL NOTES: JEALOUS CRITICIZES PEREZ CIVIL RIGHTS RECORD: Ben Jealous, the civil rights leader and 2018 Democratic nominee for governor, posted an unusual eight-minute homemade video to Twitter on Thursday, using it to lambaste the civil rights record of Tom Perez, who is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination this year. Josh Kurtz and Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters

GOP CAUCUS URGES CHANGE IN GUN REGULATIONS: On Thursday, members of Maryland’s House Republican Caucus sent a letter to Attorney General Brian Frosh urging him to declare a of state law dealing with gun permits as “unconstitutional” and “unenforceable,” following a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a similar statute in New York. Ryan Dickstein/WMAR

POLL SHOWS PARTISAN DIVIDE: Democrats and Republicans don’t seem to agree on much these days, but a new Goucher College poll, conducted in partnership with WYPR and The Baltimore Banner, found the majority of voters in both political parties thought that the rule of law in the U.S. and democracy itself is under threat. Rachel Baye/WYPR

  • The Baltimore Banner offers an overview of the survey information on Maryland voters from the Goucher College poll, listing which issues are important to voters of different parties, and finding a state divided by party. Nick Thieme/Baltimore Banner
  • The poll also shows a very close governor’s race, less than a week from the primaries. Mitchell Miller/Nick Iannelli

CANDIDATE Q&A: Former Judge Katie Curran O’Malley, a Democrat and former prosecutor, is running for Attorney General, and named fighting violent crime, protecting a right to choose abortion, and combatting climate change the three most critical issues she would address as attorney general. David Nitkin/Baltimore Fishbowl

About The Author

Meg Tully

megctully@gmail.com
http://MarylandReporter.com

Contributing Editor Meg Tully has been covering Maryland politics for more than five years. She has worked for The Frederick News-Post, where she reported during the General Assembly session in Annapolis. She has also worked for The (Hanover) Evening Sun and interned at Baltimore Magazine. Meg has won awards from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association for her state and county writing, and a Keystone Press Award for feature writing from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. She is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you have additional questions or comments contact Meg at: megctully@gmail.com

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