RNC, MDGOP SUE OVER HOWARD, MONTGOMERY VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS: The Republican National Committee and the Maryland GOP filed a lawsuit Friday against state election officials, alleging “impossibly high” voter registration numbers, days after the Department of Justice filed a similar suit. The lawsuit claims Howard and Montgomery counties reported more registered voters than citizens over 18. Ten additional counties reported voter registration rates higher than 95%, a mark above the statewide rate, the suit alleges. Brendan Nordstrom/The Baltimore Sun.
WHO MIGHT BE THE NEXT HOUSE SPEAKER? PEÑA-MELNYK EMERGES: Maryland delegates and insiders are assessing who might succeed outgoing House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, after Del. C.T. Wilson confirmed he is running for the position, and Dels. Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Ben Barnes and Jheanelle Wilkins, all Democrats, emerged as other front-runners on Friday. Mennatalla Ibrahim/The Baltimore Sun.
- The next speaker of the House of Delegates will likely be a woman and immigrant. Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel) appears to have a clear path within the Democratic Caucus to become the next speaker. A vote is scheduled for Dec. 16. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.
- “I am honored that the other three candidates have decided to withdraw their candidacy and give me their support,” Peña-Melnyk said. “I’m honored and grateful and blessed for their trust.” The other top candidates were C.T. Wilson, chair of the Economic Matters Committee; Ben Barnes, chair of the Appropriations Committee; and Jheanelle Wilkins, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. Pamela Wood and Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
JONES’s LEGACY: A LEGISLATIVE AGENDA AND CLEAR INTEGRITY: House Speaker Pro Tem Dana Stein (D-Baltimore County) moved into the acting speaker role Thursday afternoon as the Democratic Caucus prepares to nominate a new leader in just over a week. Stein referred to Adrienne Jones as a “trailblazer,” not only for being Maryland’s first woman and person of color to be elected speaker, but also for her legislative agenda. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
- “I’ve never known her to make a decision for the wrong reasons,” said Eric Luedtke, who served under Jones as House majority leader and works in Gov. Wes Moore’s administration. “There is an ironclad integrity that served the House really well.” Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
DEL AMPREY TO PUSH FOR WINE, BEER SALES IN GROCERY STORES: Del. Marlon Amprey (D-Baltimore City) believes 2026 could be the year Maryland legalizes beer and wine sales within grocery stores. He introduced legislation this year that would allow food retailers, pharmacies or gas stations to purchase a Class A liquor license, but the bill ultimately stalled in committee. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING, MARYLANDERS URGE EARLY REDISTRICTING: During a Friday public listening session for Gov. Wes Moore’s redistricting commission, Maryland voters in favor of redistricting said the state must eliminate its lone Republican congressional seat now that the Supreme Court has allowed Texas to use a new congressional map that favors Republicans. This was the commission’s third meeting. Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
U.S. REP. HARRIS EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL AFTER DIZZINESS: U.S. Rep. Andy Harris was treated at a hospital Friday evening and expected to be released after experiencing dizziness. The 68-year-old Republican represents Maryland’s 1st Congressional District, which includes the Eastern Shore, Harford County and portions of Baltimore County. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
RASKIN QUESTIONS CBS OVER TRUMP INTERVIEW EDITS: In a five-page complaint to the station’s news ombudsman, Rep. Jamie Raskin raised concerns over President Donald Trump’s suspected influence over CBS News after he said Trump “coerced” the network’s editorial decisions in his Nov. 2 “60 Minutes” interview. Matt Hubbard/The Baltimore Sun.
NEW GOVT DEPARTMENT RUNS HEADLONG INTO TRUMP: Maryland’s newest department already had a tall order, to “advance social and economic mobility for all Marylanders,” as Acting Secretary Walter Simmons describes it. Then, two days after the law creating the Department of Social and Economic Mobility took effect, the federal government made it more challenging by declaring that race- and sex-based eligibility for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise status was itself discriminatory. It’s a change that Simmons estimates could affect up to 7,000 businesses in the state. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
FREDERICK CO SETS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR 2026 SESSION: Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater will focus on four main objectives in the state legislature’s upcoming session, including increasing the amount of affordable housing in the county and re-evaluating how money for school construction is allocated. Fitzwater and other local leaders outlined their legislative priorities in a meeting Saturday with the county’s delegation to the General Assembly, which begins its 2026 session on Jan. 14. Ryan Marshall/The Frederick News Post.
MONTGOMERY TEACHERS BACK JAWANDO FOR COUNTY EXEC: The Montgomery County Education Association announced its endorsements Friday for its influential Apple Ballot, placing its backing behind County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) in the 2026 county executive race. Ashlyn Campbell/Bethesda Today.
HOWARD COUNCIL VICE CHAIR ANNOUNCES RE-ELECTION BID: Howard County Council Vice Chair Christiana Rigby is running for reelection. The Democrat announced her decision to defend her seat at a Nov. 20 campaign launch. She is a lifelong Howard County resident, having grown up in the Village of Kings Contrivance and now living in East Columbia. April Santana/The Baltimore Sun.
McNAIR AGAIN WINS LOCAL 44 PRESIDENCY IN VOTE DO-OVER: Baltimore sanitation worker Stancil McNair, whose Local Union 44 leadership victory in an August election was challenged and thrown out, won again on Saturday – defeating the same opponent as before, outgoing vice president Trevor Taylor. “I beat him by an even bigger margin this time,” McNair said. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
TOM HALL TO STEP AWAY FROM ‘MIDDAY’ TO BECOME SENIOR NEWS ANALYST: Tom Hall will soon step down as the host of WYPR’s flagship public affairs program to take on another role and make space for a new voice and perspective on the show. Officials said Hall, who has worked at WYPR for over two decades and reigned as host of Midday for nearly 10 years, will transition to a senior news analyst role. Darreonna Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
- Hall noted that position was last held by his “dear friend and mentor,” C. Fraser Smith. Smith died in 2021, after suffering a stroke. “Like Fraser, I hope to deliver commentaries, report on critical issues, and offer my perspective on Midday, in special projects, and on other shows that WYPR may develop in the future,” Hall said. Marcus Dieterle/Baltimore Fishbowl.
LOSS OF PENNY COIN MAY BE PROBLEMATIC FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: Signs of the demise of America’s one-cent coin are everywhere these days. Shiny new pennies won’t be refilling cash registers — the last of them were minted Nov. 12. But life without the penny isn’t expected to have a major impact on the economy, experts said. Rather, it could be a small inconvenience for some businesses that worsens over time. Bria Overs/The Baltimore Banner.
Yes Gov we must Disenfranchise our voters here in MD because Texas did and the US Supreme Court basically said they could. Yeah we should continue with more bad governance because “monkey see, monkey do,” right? Yeah lets double down with bad Governance. We already gerrymandered the shit out of our state to be 7-1. I am so sick of this damn state and the lopsided government, the lack of integrity, the constant blaming of others, the lack of leadership, hmm sounds like the current Federal Gov’t. Both of these parties stench of a rotting decay of our Republic, we are in need of new political parties to challenge the status quo more than ever.
Race and sex based eligibility is discriminatory, we’ve known this for quite some time. Just look at the Cannabis laws for the Social Equity licenses, they had to come up with a zip code calculation because they KNEW if they said women and minorities explicitly it would be overturned. Here we are with the Department of Social and Economic Mobility with another bad discriminatory policy, oh and they want to blame Trumps Admin for pointing out the obvious illegality of it? Give me a break. More Dem incompetence of writing laws.
So here I am asking, please tell me how the Dems are better. I am still not convinced, they are just as corrupt, stupid, partisan, and power hungry as the Repubs.