Gov. Wes Moore (D) has appealed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s denial of nearly $34 million in disaster relief to help Western Maryland areas recovering from a devastating flood earlier this year. Maryland’s sole Republican member of Congress said Moore should look to his own budget before appealing to the federal government for help.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) told Maryland Matters that the flooding is “a tragedy,” but said federal aid was not warranted in this instance.

“Federal emergency aid really should be for very, very large disasters that states can’t afford to cover on their own,” Harris, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said this week. “The governor just raised taxes $1.6 billion. He probably could find $30 million to send out to Western Maryland.”

“Extreme rainfall” from May 12-14 led to flooding that inundated parts of Allegany and Garrett counties. Midland, Lonaconing and Westernport in Allegany County were among the hardest-hit communities, with floodwaters inundating homes, schools and businesses, washing out roads and damaging pipelines.

The affected counties are all rural, majority Republican and economically challenged areas of the state. The 17.2% poverty rate in Allegany County trails only Baltimore City and Somerset County, both at 20.1%, according to 2023 estimates in the Maryland Manual online. Maryland’s overall poverty rate is 11.1%.

President Donald Trump (R) has called FEMA “a disaster” and said states should handle disaster recovery with the federal government reimbursing some of the costs.

The comments made Monday appear to represent a reversal for Harris, who three weeks ago joined the other nine members of the state’s congressional delegation, all Democrats, asking Trump to approve the aid request.

“We appreciate the congressman’s stated support for getting the FEMA funding that Western Maryland deserves,” Maureen Regan, a Moore spokesperson, said in a statement responding to Harris’ latest comments. “FEMA funding will be a critical boost to the nearly $1.5 million in disaster recovery and energy assistance that the state has already provided. We just hope the president will listen to the pleas of Mountain Marylanders to help rebuild their towns.”

Deadline? What’s that?

There are many words to describe the letter from 23 members of Congress to the Executive Council of the Chesapeake Bay Program regarding the latest multiyear proposal to clean up the bay: Thoughtful; bipartisan; forceful; forward-looking; thorough.

Late.

The letter is dated Sept. 11, even though the official public comment period for the “Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement Beyond 2025 Revision Draft” closed on Sept. 1, ending a 90-day comment period. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said “our goal was to get it in” by the deadline, but apparently it takes awhile to get 23 House and Senate members in line.

The letter is generally appreciative of the work the Bay Program has done to prepare the document, but says it needs more specifics, and it needs to be written in plain language that regular folks understand. And it says the plan needs to be both broad-based to cover all the challenges the bay currently faces, but also flexible enough to meet challenges that can’t be predicted yet, as new environmental problems crop up.

The letter is signed by eight senators including Van Hollen, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and 15 House members, including six Maryland Democrats: Reps. Kweisi Mfume, Steny Hoyer, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, Johnny Olszewski, and April McClain Delaney. All 23 signers are from states in the bay watershed.

Despite the date, Van Hollen’s not too worried about the work behind the letter going to waste.

“From our perspective, we believe that when you’ve got this many members of Congress on a bipartisan basis weighing in that, you know, we expect these views to be taken into account,” he said.

Leave her alone

That was the thrust of an open letter from Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and 20 other Democratic attorneys general to the U.S. Justice Department recently over its investigation of New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).

The letter accuses the department of “pursuing a pattern of harassment and intimidation” after James won financial fraud lawsuit against President Donald Trump (R), then a private citizen. Trump has appealed the ruling that ordered him to pay about a half-billion dollars against him. That award has since been rejected as excessive by a New York state appellate court, which otherwise upheld the ruling against him.

In February 2025, just weeks after Trump was sworn in to his second term in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed a “weaponization working group” to investigate “all departments or agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States over the last four years.” Specifically it was directed to investigate James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Special Counsel Jack Smith, all of whom investigated Trump, prosecution of Jan. 6 riot defendants and prosecution of people for blocking access to abortion clinics, among other targets.

“Every aspect of the Department’s campaign against AG James makes plain that it is not rooted in any legitimate suspicion of wrongdoing: President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are both on record having made public threats against AG James,” the Democratic attorneys general wrote.

The letter also criticizes Edward Martin Jr., a Trump loyalist heading the Justice Department’s working group, pointing to a “crude letter” Martin wrote to James’ personal attorney, caling for her to resign, and later showing up at James’ home to pose for press photographs, according to video obtained by CNN.

“Mr. Martin’s antics and actions amount more to those of a showman than to those of a representative of the United States government charged with ensuring that impartiality, integrity, and fairness are the cornerstones of criminal investigation and enforcement,” the attorneys general wrote.

A representative with the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other attorneys general who signed the letter are from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

When being called bench-warmer is a good thing

Gov. Wes Moore this week tapped “two remarkable servants of the law” to fill vacancies on two circuit court benches, with James J. Dietrich appointed in Montgomery County and Kristina L. Watkowski in Worcester County.

“Throughout their legal careers, James Dietrich and Kristina Watkowski have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to integrity and justice that will serve the people of Maryland well for years to come,” Moore said in a statement Wednesday announcing the appointments.

Dietrich has spent close to 30 years as a prosecutor, beginning his career in the Howard County State’s Attorney’s office, where he served for 21 years and was part of the circuit court trial team for 10 years, and for the last seven years he has been a prosecutor with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, serving on the major crimes and post-conviction units.

Dietrich teaches coursed on evidence, criminal procedure and trial practice as an adjunct professor at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, where he received his law degree. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Lemoyne College.

Watkowski began her legal career clerking for Judges Theodore R. Eschenburg Sr. and Thomas C. Groton III in Worcester County Circuit Court, before moving to the Maryland Office of the Public Defender where she eventually became supervising attorney for the Worcester County office. Since 2022, she has worked as an attorney with Booth, Cropper & Marriner since 2022, with a practice primarily focused on civil litigation with a concentration in land use and zoning.

Watkowski earned an associate’s degree from Howard Community College and her bachelor’s degree from Salisbury University, before getting her law degree at Widener University’s Delaware Law School.

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by Bryan P. Sears and William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
September 13, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

BOSTON — In some of his first public comments since being shot in an attempted assassination, Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman urged fellow lawmakers to refocus on the true purpose of public service.

“We can’t let the evil of the night win, and we must redouble our efforts and reclaim the reason we are all public servants,” he said.

That means listening to one another, extending understanding even in disagreement, and finding compromise, “not because it’s easy, but because the people we serve deserve better than constant stalemate built on partisan egos. They deserve solutions.”

Hoffman appeared via video message before thousands of lawmakers and staffers gathered at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit last month in Boston. In June, he and his wife were shot in their Minnesota home just before the politically motivated shooter killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman, the former House speaker, her husband, Mark, and their dog, Gilbert.

The shooting hung over this year’s meeting of the NCSL, a group that labors to maintain a reputation for bipartisan and nonpartisan work. Lawmakers in attendance on the left and the right repeatedly lamented the toxicity of American politics and the growing threat of political violence at local levels of government.

Many lawmakers raised questions about whether public service is still worth it, how state governments can buck the partisanship that defines Washington, D.C., and what measures lawmakers should take to keep members safe.

Most lawmakers said they remained committed to serving, but they said conservatives and liberals must find ways to disagree without demonizing their opposition and do better at monitoring the rhetoric of members of their own parties.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said the vitriol of social media and cable news has made it more difficult to talk with people of differing beliefs. Technology has reduced the frequency of many human interactions, he said. Even the rise of video doorbells has made it difficult for candidates and officials to talk with everyday constituents in person, as many refuse to answer.

“So instead of knocking on doors and meeting strangers, you have a tendency to go to party events where you are meeting people who want to come and meet you,” he said. “Well, they come from usually one end of the spectrum. They’re people who are probably paying too much attention to politics and not enough to all the other things in the world.”

Author and media personality Michael Smerconish asked Vos whether the current climate pushes good candidates away and incentivizes “zealots” to run.

“That’s a really good point,” Vos responded. “Part of my job is to recruit candidates, and it is very challenging to get people who are willing to put their personal life on the line and convince their family that there is nothing more fun to do on a Sunday morning than to go to a pancake breakfast.”

He said potential candidates are worried about how their kids will be treated in school and what effect running could have on their careers. But he said state governments can model a more civil political tone and show how government works. Even simple moves like holding bipartisan meetings with staff — rather than holding separate caucus meetings — can help to forge more positive relationships.

“We are places where people can disagree, but we don’t have to be hateful,” he said. “And maybe, just maybe, over time we’ll be able to showcase to the rest of the country that that’s the way that legislatures lead.”

‘Hold people accountable’

Since the June shooting in Minnesota, liberal and conservative states alike are considering measures to bolster protections for candidates and elected officials.

Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman at a 2013 hearing, next to state Sen. John Hoffman . Hoffman survived a June 2025 attack from the same gunman who killed Hortman. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota House Information Services)

Legislation proposed in New Jersey would prohibit the publication of home addresses of lawmakers, adding them to a list of protected officials that includes judges and law enforcement.

ln North Dakota, lawmakers are considering establishing a more formal process for reporting threats, the North Dakota Monitor reported. A North Dakota man was charged in June with sending threatening messages to officials in which he referenced the Minnesota shootings. Legislative staff have already removed the home addresses of lawmakers from the legislative website and are considering providing post office boxes for lawmaker mail and creating new safety training.

Pennsylvania lawmakers are studying a package of bills to boost legislator safety, limit their public exposure and ensure representation if a lawmaker dies while in office, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported.

In Oregon, House Speaker Julie Fahey said lawmakers and staff are thinking more about personal safety. State law doesn’t allow candidates to use campaign funds for security purposes, but the Democratic speaker said the legislature may soon change that.

During an NCSL session about the cost of public service, Fahey referenced protesters’ 2020 armed breach of the state Capitol in Salem and noted that she’d had an angry constituent show up at her home.

She said lawmakers and staffers need to talk more about the cost of their work, which can be isolating, especially for those in leadership positions.

“I think it’s really important that we talk about the threats and we talk about the impact,” she said.

Sitting next to her, West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican, said it’s not just personal safety that weighs on lawmakers.

It’s just as taxing on spouses and families — who he said are “front and center” in any conversation about running for office nowadays.

When he first assumed his leadership position in 2018, Hanshaw said he saw his job as mostly confined to running the chamber and worrying only about the behavior of members in their official capacity. But his thinking has evolved in this political environment, which he said requires modeling and monitoring of personal behavior and online activity of members of his caucus.

“That was the wrong approach,” he told Stateline. “And I would say that to anyone who’s coming into one of these roles: You need to set the example and you need to hold people accountable.”

‘What is your why?’

Pennsylvania Democratic House Speaker Joanna McClinton said the current political environment is markedly different because officials at all levels of government can be targets.

“And what we must all collectively do is to condemn the violence, to bring the tone of rhetoric down and out of our capitols, and most importantly let folks know that we can always agree to disagree, but we can never, ever allow there to be violence in discourse,” she said in an interview.

While the climate has not deterred her from serving, McClinton said it does provide an opportunity to underscore the solemnity of public service and helps frame a candidate’s purpose for running and deciding whether it’s worthwhile.

“What is your why?” she said she increasingly asks potential candidates. “What is your purpose? What do you plan to achieve, to accomplish? Why is it that you want to do this?”

Tim Storey, the chief executive officer of NCSL, said state legislatures are more bipartisan than many realize. Even in dogged legislative fights, many bills ultimately pass with support from both sides — or even unanimously.

“There’s a relatively small group who just demonize the other side,” he said in an interview. “I think for the most part, they still see each other as humans who are actually in a really unique job, and so only they can understand each other and the sacrifice and the pressure that gets put on by the public exposure.”

He said that was especially true following Hortman’s assassination.

Hundreds gather for a vigil honoring Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, outside of the Minnesota State Capitol Tuesday, June 17, 2025 in St. Paul. (Photo by Nicole Neri for the Minnesota Reformer)

“They felt it across the aisle of both parties,” he said.
Storey said NCSL’s Boston summit was a record-breaker with more than 1,600 state lawmakers and thousands more staffers and lobbyists in attendance.

The event kicked off with two of Minnesota’s top legislative leaders — a Democrat and a Republican — on stage in front of a packed ballroom talking about the assassination.

Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth said Hortman had always treated her as a partner rather than an adversary. With mutual trust and respect, they could “disagree without being disagreeable,” she said.

State Sen. Erin Murphy, the Democratic majority leader, said politicians must turn down the vitriol in their rhetoric.

“I think a lot of America would appreciate that. I know Melissa would,” she told the crowd.

But she said lawmakers must also root out dehumanizing narratives and conspiracy theories that have led to the radicalization of so many individuals.

“We can’t lose faith in each other. We can’t lose faith in America,” she said. “As Melissa taught us, failure is not an option.”

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By:Kevin Hardy–September 11, 20256:19 pm

 Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: [email protected].

Republished by: Maryland Matters 

 Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a 2023 file photo, delivering his first State of State address in the Maryland House of Delegates chamber. (File photo by Danielle E. Gaines/Maryland Matters)

Gov. Wes Moore (D) will make it official Tuesday when he announces his plans to seek reelection in 2026.

The announcement, which was widely expected, will be made in a campaign video in which Moore recounts his historic 2022 campaign, which made him the first Black governor in state history, as well as his efforts on crime, budgeting, taxes and the middle class since being elected.

“But while we stand up for middle-class Marylanders, the president of the United States is bending over backwards for billionaires and big corporations … firing federal workers, gutting Medicaid, raising prices on everything from electricity to groceries,” Moore said in a transcript of the video released to Maryland Matters. “The games of Washington are exhausting, and worse, they’re hurting people. I’m not from that world.”

The announcement comes two days after Moore repeated his insistence that he intends to serve a full term as governor and that he is not running for president in 2028 — a rumor that got fresh legs last week after paparazzi photographed Moore and his wife on a boat at the Italian villa of actor George Clooney, considered by some to be a Democratic kingmaker.

Moore, the incumbent and presumed Democratic primary frontrunner, becomes the second Democrat to announce his intentions for the governor’s mansion.

Ralph Jaffe, a retired teacher, filed for the primary race on July 30. Jaffe has run for governor or U.S. senator in eight previous elections, dating back to 1992. In 2022, he finished last in a 10-candidate Democratic primary field with 2,978 votes, about 0.44% of primary votes cast.

Meanwhile, on the second floor …

Moore on Monday named Lester Davis as his new chief of staff, replacing the departing Fagan Harris.

“Lester is a known problem-solver, and his proven ability to secure improved outcomes for the people he serves will build on the progress our administration has made over the past two and a half years,” Moore said in a statement announcing the appointment. “He brings a commitment to building strong partnerships, uplifting communities, and delivering data-driven results that are in lockstep with the priorities our administration has championed since day one.”

Davis joins the administration fresh off a three-year stint as vice president and chief of staff for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. He also served on transition teams for Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

While in Baltimore, he spent roughly a decade working for Jack Young, first as director of policy and communications for then-City Council President Young and later as deputy chief of staff when Young became mayor after Catherine Pugh resigned while under investigation for fraud related to her “Healthy Holly” books.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from Norfolk State University and worked roughly four years as a reporter at various publications including the Palm Beach Post. He will start this fall as part of a planned transition. A Moore spokesperson could not immediately provide Davis’ planned salary.

Harris, Moore’s current chief of staff, announced last month that he would leave by the end of the year to become president and CEO of the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore philanthropic institution.

Moore’s lobby shop staffs up

The governor’s office also added two new deputies in his legislative office.

Tony Bridges moves to the lobbying shop after three years as assistant secretary for equity and engagement at the Maryland Department of Transportation. The former Baltimore City delegate held a number of positions with the Transportation Department, including chief of staff at the Maryland Transit Administration.

Also joining the shop is Hannah Dier, who held a number of positions including, most recently, deputy county administrative officer under Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman. Prior to her stint in Anne Arundel County, Dier served six years as a budget analyst in the Department of Legislative Services. Her last three were as senior policy analyst for the House Appropriations Committee.

Bridges and Dier round out a team of seven deputies under Chief Legislative Officer Jeremy Baker. Baker once advised two House speakers overlapping with the service of Bridges and Dier.

Turns out, Hale is a Republican (now)

Ed Hale, who announced he was leaving the Democratic party to run for governor as a Republican, faced more criticism last week regarding his decision to switch rather than fight Moore for the Democratic Party nomination.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore), who announced last week that he was exploring his own run for governor, claimed in an interview that Hale had not yet switched parties.

Baltimore businessman Ed Hale Sr. during a campaign event in Canton. Hale, as promised, changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican last month. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

 

“He might think he’s a conservative person, he might run businesses, which we do understand, but the fact of the matter is, he’s a Democrat and he’s still a Democrat,” Hershey said in a televised interview Thursday. “I was at the Board of Elections today, Ed Hill has not changed party affiliation yet.”

Turns out, he had.

Hale, a lifelong Democrat, announced Aug. 21 he was switching parties to run for governor as a Republican. A day later, he said during a radio interview he had filed the paperwork to make it official.

After Hershey’s interview, Hale shared with Maryland Matters a photo of an updated voter registration card from Talbot County, where he lives. Dated Aug. 22, it shows Hale registered as a Republican. Maryland Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis Monday confirmed that Hale had switched parties Aug. 22 in Talbot County and was issued an updated voter registration card.

“Why is he making fun of me,” Hale wrote in a text to a reporter. “Seems disingenuous.”

Hershey did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Hershey has been highly critical of Hale’s party switch, calling the Baltimore businessman a political opportunist and a newly minted Republican of “convenience rather than conviction.” It seems unlikely Hershey is going to drop the issue any time soon: During the Fox 45 interview, he made it clear if he enters the race for governor, Hale’s party switch will be campaign fodder.

“I don’t know what makes him think he can come into our party after years and years and years being a lifelong Democrat and saying at the last minute, I’m going to be a Republican and therefore embrace me,” Hershey said. “Right now, Ed Hale is looking for a party … someone to welcome him. I don’t think that the Republican Party welcomes him, but that will be a campaign issue, and if that’s what we have to talk about, I certainly welcome the opportunity to run against a Democrat in the Republican primary.”

Hale is not yet an official candidate, according to a check of the Maryland State Board of Elections website Monday night.

John Myrick, who previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, and Carl A. Brunner Jr., a Carroll County firearms instructor, remain the only two filed candidates.

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by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
September 9, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore) has formed an exploratory committee to weigh a 2026 bid for governor, citing the need for “balance” in a state that has gone “so far to the left” under Democratic control.

Hershey said he expects to make a decision sometime before the end of the year on whether he’ll challenge incumbent Gov. Wes Moore (D), who is all but guaranteed to be the Democratic nominee.

Hershey has said people had approached him recently about running, including one supporter who asked, “Is this really necessary?” In an interview with Maryland Matters on Thursday, he said it is necessary to provide real competition to Democrats and give voters a choice.

“Without real competition, Maryland loses balance. Without balance, there’s no incentive for moderation. I think that’s the big thing that we look at when we talk about Democrats crossing over and voting for a Republican governor, ” Hershey said.

“Right now, we have moved so far to the left with Gov. Moore and the composition of the state Senate and the House of Delegates that this pendulum needs to come back,” he told Maryland Matters. “We need to see more of a balance in Maryland. I think that’s one of the big things that I’d be able to offer.”

Hershey said his decision to form an exploratory committee crystalized after Ed Hale Sr. announced he would switch parties and run for governor as a Republican. The lifelong Democrat has never sought public office before, and conceded that his change in party affiliation was a recognition that he could not beat Moore in a Democratic primary.

Baltimore businessman Ed Hale Sr., a lifelong Democrat, plans to run for governor as a Republican. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.)

Hershey criticized Hale as a political opportunist, and Hale responded in a radio interview that he had no idea who Hershey was. While Hale has announced his intention to and has created a state campaign account, he has yet to formally file as a candidate.

Democrats said it doesn’t matter who winds up as the GOP nominee, that person will be in for an unpleasant surprise in the general election.

“Stephen Hershey, Ed Hale Sr. and [former Gov.] Larry Hogan all have one thing in common: They’re out-of-touch Republicans who will lose to Wes Moore next year,” Kevin Donohoe, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, said in a statement. “Maryland Republicans now look like they’re set to have a messy primary filled with lackluster candidates who don’t have the spine to fight Donald Trump’s agenda that is crushing Maryland’s middle class. Good luck!”

Hershey, a senator for about 12 years, said aside from polling, his committee would test the fundraising waters. That would include cash in hand and “commitments from donors” should the exploratory committee turn into a formal campaign.

A late-2025 decision would put Hershey right up against the 2026 legislative session, during which Hershey — like all legislators and constitutional officers, including the governor — is banned from fundraising activities.  But Hershey’s eventual running mate may not have those same restrictions.

Hershey could get around the prohibition by giving up his Senate seat — something he said flatly he would not do.

“One of the biggest concerns that I do have is I very much enjoy and appreciate the honor of representing District 36 as a state senator,” he said. “I am not willing to easily give up the opportunity to continue doing that.

“So as I’m looking at the opportunity, or the pathway to see if I would be able to defeat Gov. Moore in a general election, I am weighing that against the potential, the current and potential continued status of being a minority leader and representing our caucus over the next four years as well,” he said Thursday.

Hershey said he had been approached several times during the legislative session about running, but that the “intensity of the calls and messages and conversations have picked up dramatically since Ed Hale made his announcement.”

“So, yes, there is a part of me that is saying that the Republicans need to be represented in the race against Gov. Moore. I think that there is much concern over Ed Hale switching parties at the last minute and deciding to run as a Republican,” Hershey said. “And I said before, Republicans know the difference between conviction and convenience. So, it played a role — it may have just accelerated my decision to move forward with this.”

Hershey said he plans to spend the next 90 days polling and assessing the viability of a statewide campaign. That includes his ability to raise the money needed to challenge Moore, who has a proven ability to raise large sums of cash and is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Hershey’s announcement comes a day after a radio interview in which he teased the possibility of a run for governor.

Prior to 2002, Republicans had not held the governor’s mansion in nearly four decades.

Since 2002, the minority party — registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2-1 — has won the governor’s seat in three of the last six elections. That includes Larry Hogan, who became the first Republican since Theodore McKeldin, to win consecutive terms as governor.

But those Republican governors won open seats: Unseating an incumbent Democrat seeking reelection has proven difficult.

“There is still an opportunity for a Republican to win, even though this would be a different path that we have taken in the past,” Hershey said. “We have not won against the incumbent governor before, but we have won after eight years of (two) Democratic governors. In both cases a tax-and-spend governor.

“I think what we’re going to find out in polling is that people — families — are hurting now, after four years of Gov. Moore, as they were after eight years of Gov. O’Malley. That’s where we’re thinking we’re going to see a notable difference in the reelection of Gov. Moore, as opposed to just running against an open seat,” he said.

Hershey’s announcement comes as one other top Republican remains on the fence considering his own future. Hogan continues to be talked about as a potential candidate for his former office and at times has stoked the speculation himself.

Hershey said he spoke to Hogan about his intentions early Thursday afternoon.

“The governor [Hogan] is still looking at the race from the perspective that a lot of people are asking him to do this as well,” Hershey said. “We’re both in agreement that this is … the more appropriate step for me to take in forming an exploratory commission.”

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by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
September 4, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

A small plane circled the Maryland State House throughout Monday morning and afternoon, trailing a banner with a call to action: “MESS WITH TEXAS.”

It was an apparent reference to the redistricting fight in Texas, where state Republicans are pushing for a rare mid-decade redistricting plan that would flip five U.S. House seats currently held by Democrats before next year’s elections. Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state to prevent a scheduled vote Monday on the redistricting bill, while Democrats in other states are considering responding in kind if Texas goes through with its plan.

Maryland is among those states.

“What’s happening is ruinous, really, to there being any sort of state parity or ground rules,” said Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery) of the proposed Texas redistricting. “Ultimately, it just helps take accountability away from elected officials.”

Moon — who said he saw some of the on-the-lam Texas House Democrats in Boston at the National Conference of State Legislatures convention Monday — said last month that he plans to introduce a bill that would automatically trigger a Maryland redistricting if any other state redistricted “outside of the regular decennial census period.”

Typically, states redraw their congressional district boundaries every 10 years, when decennial Census numbers come out, so for Texas to do it mid-decade would be “ruinous,” Moon said. If the once-per-decade norm is broken by one state, it can affect all other states, said Moon, the House majority leader.

“If one of the 50 states decides to break from the norm and redistrict whenever they want, that’s just not a sustainable system — unless every other state also exercises that same right,” Moon said. “Ideally, once everyone has the same power, nobody exercises it, because it’s destabilizing the Congress itself to have the prospect of redistricting happen every election cycle.”

A plane flies over the State House Monday trailing a “MESS WITH TEXAS” banner. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters).

Maryland is one of the Democratic-led states considering such a response to Texas. More planes trailing “Mess with Texas” banners, backed by “an anonymous group of self-described democracy advocates,” according to Politico, had plans to fly over state capitols Monday in New York, Maine, New Jersey, Illinois and California.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the effort. Employees at two aerial advertising companies, FlySigns.com and Aerial Advertising Outdoor Maryland, were unable to confirm whether the planes had been rented from them.

A “MESS WITH TEXAS” banner was spotted Monday over Albany, according to posts on Facebook and Reddit, where New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) stood with five Texas Democratic lawmakers and said New York was looking into how it could mount a mid-decade redistrictinf if Texas does.

Maryland House Minority Leader Del. Jason Buckel (R-Allegany) said he is also against mid-decade redistricting. But Texas is growing much faster than Maryland — potentially fast enough to merit one or two additional congressional districts compared to 2020, he said.

Texas is a much larger state with more minority seats than Maryland, Buckel said, so even if it redistricts, there will still be Texas seats available to Democrats. In Maryland, only one of the state’s eight congressional seats is held by a Republican.

“Under what Del. Moon is proposing, he wants to potentially gerrymander a map that would have absolutely zero Republican representation in the state,” Buckel said. “That’s just kind of absurd, and I don’t think there’s a way for them to do it.”

Maryland Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery) wrote in a post on X that he will co-sponsor Moon’s bill if it moves forward.

Vogel said he doesn’t support partisan gerrymandering, and he hopes that Texas backs away from its effort. But if Texas engages in partisan mid-decade redistricting, then Maryland will engage back, Vogel said.

“I’m by no means excited about this. First, because I do not generally support partisan gerrymandering, and second, because I think that this could result in a nationwide battle around redistricting in a way that I think further polarizes our country,” Vogel said. “But, again back to this point: Texas is starting it. Texas lawmakers are starting it.”

Moon called the current once-per-decade redistricting norm “basically a treaty among the states,” but said that treaty requires cooperation by all 50 states, which can’t be done if Texas redistricts now.

“This era of unilateral disarmament is over,” Moon said.

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by Lauren Lifke, Maryland Matters
August 5, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

WASHINGTON — A dozen Democratic members of Congress filed a lawsuit Wednesday charging that the Trump administration is blocking lawmakers from conducting congressional oversight of federal immigration detention centers.

The suit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia argues that the Department of Homeland Security’s new policy to limit or block lawmakers from visiting immigrant detention facilities is unlawful. The members cite an appropriations law in effect since 2019 that grants a lawmaker the ability to conduct oversight of such centers without prior approval from the department or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This oversight informs potential legislation on the subject of immigration detention, ensures that administration officials are carrying out their responsibilities consistent with federal law, and ensures that funds appropriated to DHS and ICE are being used appropriately on the ground,” according to the suit.

DHS did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

As the Trump administration aims to carry out mass deportations, one of the few tools Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers of Congress, have is oversight of immigration detention centers.

It’s already led to clashes between Democratic lawmakers and immigration officers after New Jersey Democrats protested the reopening of a detention center.

The lawmakers said that since June, they have tried to obtain information about conditions at DHS facilities “for the purpose of conducting real-time oversight of that facility” and each “of those attempted oversight visits has been blocked by” DHS.

For example, Colorado’s Jason Crow, who is part of the suit, said this month he was denied entry to an ICE facility to conduct oversight.

“​​As part of its campaign of mass deportation, the Trump-Vance administration has stretched the U.S. immigration detention system far beyond its capacity,” the suit said.

The suit cites the deaths of 11 people while in immigration custody in the past five months and the unlawful detainment of U.S. citizens, often without access to legal counsel.

“More people are being held by the United States in immigration detention than ever before, with many facilities housing more individuals than they were built to contain,” according to the suit. “Reports of mistreatment have been widespread and have included disturbing details of overcrowding, food shortages, lack of adequate medical care, and unsanitary conditions.”

The suit is being led by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which is representing the House lawmakers, most of whom are in leadership roles or top Democrats on committees, such as Bennie Thompson of Mississippi on Homeland Security, Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Judiciary and Robert Garcia of California on Oversight and Government Reform.

The other Democrats include Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman of New York; J. Luis Correa, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz and Norma Torres of California; Crow and Joe Neguse of Colorado; and Veronica Escobar of Texas.

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by Ariana Figueroa, Maryland Matters
August 2, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

A new legislative audit is casting doubts on hundreds of millions of dollars in savings claimed earlier this year by Gov. Wes Moore.

In June, the Democratic chief executive and his staff announced budget cuts of $400 million — exceeding a goal of $50 million promised by Moore. On Thursday, the office of Legislative Audits released a report casting doubt on those claims and a lack of transparency in how the Department of General Services presented those deals to a state panel led by Moore.

“Our audit disclosed that DGS could not support that $410.9 million in leases to relocate state agencies to downtown Baltimore were in the State’s best interest,” Legislative Auditor Brian Tanen wrote in the report.

Tanen added that the department, which handles state leasing, “did not perform an analysis of the cost-benefits of purchasing property instead of awarding leases to private entities and the lease awards were not always presented to the Board of Public Works in a transparent manner.”

The audit of the Department of General Services, released Thursday, also includes criticism of an unusual 20-year lease agreement that bakes in $10 million in renovations. The deal for office space for the Maryland Department of the Environment severely limits the state’s ability to cancel the lease.

Moore vowed to find at least $50 million in savings as part of a fiscal 2026 spending plan he proposed earlier this year. The effort was a small part of attacking what was then a projected $3.3 billion structural budget deficit.

Chief Performance Officer Asma Mirza (left) speaks with state Budget Secretary Helene Grady during a July meeting of the Board of Public Works. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)

 He convened a panel, led by Chief Performance Officer Asma Mirza, and charged it with finding efficiencies in procurement, real estate, and fleet management.

Mirza told reporters in June that the effort represented a “data-driven approach to modernizing state government operations.”

In June, they declared they had exceeded the target by identifying more than $400 million in savings. Of that, more than 80% of the announced savings is projected to come from moving departments from state-owned buildings into leased commercial space in downtown Baltimore. The projected savings would not be immediate but over 20 to 25 years.

The plan appeared to capture some savings already expected from a decision to move thousands of state employees out of the decaying State Center property in Baltimore.

At one point, the plan was to partner with the private sector to redevelop the 25-acre state office complex, which sits on a Metro stop and is adjacent to the light rail.

The plan, approved in 2009, fell apart after officials balked at the excessive rents and parking rates that would be charged to state agencies moving back into the new facility. Later, then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) filed a lawsuit to terminate the $1.5 billion project. The developer countersued. The Board of Public Works, led by Moore, voted unanimously in November to settle with developer State Center LLC for $58.5 million.

At the time of the settlement, there were fewer than 5,000 employees from seven state agencies at the center. The state plans to move all remaining employees to other locations by the end of 2026.

The future of the State Center property is undetermined. Options include turning over the midtown property to the city or selling to a developer.

In a written response to the auditor’s findings, the department called the conclusions on State Center “not factually accurate.”

“DGS conducted cost-benefit analyses for the State Center campus in order to determine the most cost beneficial option for the state agencies located on this site,” the agency wrote in its response.

The department added that two cost-benefit analyses were conducted on the State Center move and determined the move to leased space was in the best interest of the state.

“While DGS could not explore every conceivable option for relocating State Center, DGS was deliberate in considering relevant, realistic, and viable options,” the department wrote in its response to the auditor.

Purchasing new properties to relocate state agencies was “determined to not be a viable option.” The department cited concerns about “extensive capital funding” for renovations and “extensive maintenance costs.”

Auditors, in a footnote, wrote that the department could not provide documentation including formal analysis that showed efforts to maximize the state’s purchasing power. Auditors added that “the response does not contradict the facts presented in the finding.”

Negotiating “aggressive lease rates”

One official, in a June briefing with reporters, said the state would take advantage of the large amount of available commercial office space and negotiate “very aggressive lease rates.”

The recent audit cast doubt on some of those claims.

In one case, auditors noted that the state was spending nearly $278 million over 15 years for office space for the Maryland Department of Health. The space is leased in a building that the current landlord purchased for $16 million in 2016, the report notes.

“Given the significant amount of space being leased by certain of these agencies, we question whether the decision to lease was the most cost-beneficial alternative,” auditors wrote.

Auditors also noted that the Department of General Services could not document how much consideration was given to consolidating leases into a single location. Auditors could find only one example where two departments relocated under a single lease.

Auditors wrote that while the department said it did consider multiple agencies in a single lease, it “did not formally analyze whether agencies should be co-located to maximize the State’s purchasing power to achieve operational efficiencies.”

Additionally, auditors noted that the department failed to determine fair market rates for the leases “resulting in a lack of assurance that the leases were at or below market rates.”

Again, officials at the department disagreed with the findings.

In a response to auditors, the department said it “contracts with independent commercial real estate brokers to accurately determine the fair market rates for all leases in order to ensure that leases are procured at rates that are either at, or below, market rates for the area.”

Hidden costs

Another concern for auditors was the lack of transparency in how lease deals were presented to the Board of Public Works. The three-member panel led by the governor reviews and approves billions in state contracts annually.

A review of board agendas, minutes and other documents raised concerns that the total costs of lease awards was not always disclosed.

Auditors looked at eight agreements. They found that the department reported only the first year of the cost of the lease to the board but not the full cost over agreements that lasted 10-15 years. Excluded from those costs were annual rent escalations.

In one case, a lease for the Department of Human Services was presented as a $3.7 million deal. Not disclosed was that the lease costs grow to $5.8 million by the 10th year and cost nearly $50 million over the life of the deal.

Also excluded were other costs such as parking. The eight leases reviewed included nearly $5 million in annual parking costs that were not reflected in presentations to the board.

Auditors added that the department “did not properly evaluate lease proposals, raising questions as to whether the lease awards were the most advantageous to the state.”

In its response, the department said its presentation of leases was “legally sufficient”

However, the department signaled that it would change how it presents leases in the future.

“DGS acknowledges that additional clarification can be obtained by reporting the total rent value for the rental term, which can meet best practices,” the agency wrote in its response. “Accordingly, DGS will begin including a line item for the total rent value for the term of the lease and a line item for parking costs when parking is a component of the lease, on all lease transaction items beginning with the July 2, 2025, BPW agenda.”

– This story was updated on Friday, Aug. 1, to correct, in the 23rd paragraph, the year in which a leased building had been bought by its landlord.

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by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
July 31, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

An Eastern Shore pastor who was arrested by immigration agents Monday and taken to Baltimore for processing is in good spirits and is preaching to fellow detainees — but that preaching is now being done at a detention center in Louisiana.

Daniel Fuentes Espinal, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras with no criminal record, was transferred Thursday from Baltimore to the Winn Correctional Center outside New Orleans, a family friend said Friday.

“He’s a remarkably resilient man, and for all of the trauma that he has been subjected to and the stress that’s been inflicted upon him and on his family, he is upbeat and his spirits are good,” said Len Foxwell, speaking for the family.

Fuentes Espinal’s daughter, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz, had been speaking for the family earlier this week, but is now declining interviews for fear of retaliation, Foxwell said.

Fuentes Diaz spoke to her father Thursday before his transfer. Foxwell said. He said Fuentes Espinal’s attorney filed a motion for a bond hearing, which was approved and will take place next week.

Fuentes Espinal, his wife and daughter fled violence in their native Honduras in 2001, when Clarissa was 8 years old, and eventually came to the Eastern Shore where they put down roots and where two more children were born.

Since 2015, Fuentes Espinal has been pastor of Jesus Te Ama Iglesia del Nazareno [Jesus Loves You Church of the Nazarene] in Easton — an unpaid position. He works in construction to pay the family’s bills.

Fuentes Espinal had gone to a hardware store for construction materials for his job on Monday and was on his way to work when he was stopped by unidentified agents and arrested on immigration charges and taken to Baltimore. The family only learned of his whereabouts when he called later that night, as the family was about to file a missing persons report, his daughter said earlier this week.

Fuentes Diaz recently learned that she had been approved for U.S. citizenship, after a 16-year wait, and said both parents had been working to get documentation. “I was going to help my dad and mom get their papers straight,” but that was before her father was arrested, she said earlier this week.

His arrest comes amid a surge in immigration detentions, part of President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to enact mass deportations if reelected. The pressure to make arrests has led to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents frequenting areas where day-laborers gather, raiding businesses and sites that had previously been off-limits, like courthouses — and, according to critics, engaging in racial profiling to stop people simply for looking Hispanic.

In Maryland, immigration arrests jumped from about 3.7 per day in 2024 to 9.8 per day since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, according to data from the Deportation Data Project.

While Trump and Department of Homeland Security officials have said their immigration enforcement actions are aimed at removing the “worst of the worst” undocumented criminals in the U.S., only 45% of those arrested this year have criminal convictions and 40%, like Fuentes Espinal, have no criminal charges.

Fuentes Espinal’s case has drawn extensive media coverage as well as the attention of immigration advocates and members of Maryland’s congressional delegation. Foxwell said a gofundme page he set up for the family quickly surpassed its original goal of raising $15,000, and then a second goal of $25,000. As of Friday, it was inching toward a new goal of $40,000, which he said will come in handy if the Fuentes Espinal has to travel to Louisiana.

In the meantime, Fuentes Espinal remains upbeat and is trying to console his family, Foxwell said Friday.

“His exact words to his daughter were: ‘This must be God’s plan,’” Foxwell said.

Fuentes Espinal said he has been ministering to his fellow detainees, both in Baltimore and in Louisiana, Foxwell said.

“A preacher is going to preach, and he doesn’t necessarily need a church to talk about the grace of God,” Foxwell said.

Fuentes Diaz told Foxwell that her father said he’s aware of the coverage his case has attracted, and he is grateful.

“He is a true man of faith who embodies the teachings of Christ each and every day of his life,” Foxwell said. “He is remaining upbeat and resilient under a set of circumstances that would break most other people.”

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by Lauren Lifke, Maryland Matters
July 26, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].