Maryland Democrats celebrate ‘morning in Maryland’ as they return to Annapolis in larger numbers

A new era in Maryland politics began to take shape Tuesday in Annapolis as the state’s most prominent Democratic elected officials reveled in their party’s expanded powers, while outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan gave a farewell speech and unveiled his official portrait. “It is morning in Maryland after eight long years,” Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis told a crowd of hundreds of local, state and federal officeholders on the eve of the General Assembly’s new legislative session. “We’ve been tested, no doubt about it,” Lewis said at the first pre-session summit the state party has held in-person since 2020. “Eight years of a Republican governor. We had a pandemic. We had recessions. We had threats to our democracy. We had hate and division. And still, we rise.”