Politics

Maryland’s high-profile race to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin got off to a quick start, with four Democrats almost immediately jumping in for the rare chance to win an open seat in Washington, D.C., next year. Cardin, a three-term senator who’s been involved in Maryland politics for nearly six decades, is not seeking reelection in 2024.

With two quarters of campaign finance reports in the books, it’s time to take stock of fundraising in the Congressional District 6 race. This series will explore where the candidates’ money is coming from as of 9/30/23. The data source of this series is the campaign finance information collected by the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC). The chart below shows total fundraising for each candidate from the FEC’s CD6 profile. Democrats appear in blue bars and Republicans appear in red ones.

While the Montgomery County Board of Elections voted Oct. 16 to approve the addition of mail-in ballot dropboxes at Montgomery College campuses for the 2024 presidential election, one member opposed the decision, citing college students’ political activity. “College campuses have historically been hotbeds of unrest,” Diane Nash Dillon, a Republican member of the body, said during the Oct. 16 board meeting. “Everybody knows the demographics or as in the political makeup of college campuses are heavily skewed in favor of one party … I’m categorically opposed to placing dropboxes on college campuses.”

Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is headed to trial next week, and the judge overseeing the case agreed to limit some of the prosecution’s arguments at a pre-trial hearing Monday. But the defense didn’t get everything it was seeking, and other issues remain unsettled. Mosby was originally charged with perjury and making false statements on a mortgage application, with prosecutors alleging she lied about suffering an “adverse financial consequence” related to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to gain early access to retirement funds, then used that money to purchase vacation homes in Florida, and, in doing so, lied in related paperwork.

Officials from the Baltimore Orioles and the state government unveiled the outlines of a future lease for the team at Camden Yards with great fanfare this fall. We know the two sides have agreed in principle on a number of terms for the ballclub to remain at the state-owned Oriole Park at Camden Yards: The term would be for 30 years, the team would pay no rent but take over routine operations and maintenance costs, and the team would be allowed to redevelop areas including the B&O Warehouse, the Camden Station building and a strip of parking lots between the warehouse and train tracks.

With another government shutdown deadline less than a month away and no end in sight to the feuding over who House Republicans will elect speaker, Maryland officials are setting up a new lifeline for some federal employees who may soon be forced to work without pay. The program — pending approval at Wednesday’s state Board of Public Works meeting — would offer small, no-interest loans to civilian federal employees who work in Maryland but are not otherwise eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

Members of Howard County’s school board, county council, and state legislative delegation discussed legislative priorities in an online meeting Thursday. During the meeting, attendees expressed concern over a shortage of 14 special education teachers, while the county’s superintendent noted the school system had solved its bussing problems.

Will Jawando, who worked to position himself as the progressive Democrat in Maryland’s U.S. Senate race, announced Friday he will no longer seek the position in 2024. The Montgomery County councilmember was the first person to announce his intention to seek the Senate after longtime Sen. Ben Cardin (D) said in May he wouldn’t seek reelection. Jawando sought to make history as the state’s first Black senator.