Hogan’s historic win
But other Maryland Republicans fall as President Trump remains unpopular in state
Larry Hogan made history this year when he became just the second Republican ever to
In doing so, Hogan avoided being dragged under a blue wave that swept parts of the region and the country due to concern over the presidency of Republican Donald Trump.
Hogan defeated Democratic challenger Ben Jealous thanks in part to
Other Republicans weren’t so fortunate.
In Howard County, Councilman Calvin Ball, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican County Executive Allan Kittleman. In Anne Arundel,
Overall, the election results mean that in 2019, Democrats will hold the top jobs in seven of Maryland’s eight largest jurisdictions, seven of its eight congressional seats, and supermajorities in the state Senate and the
Hogan
“We had President Trump say the election should be about him, even though he’s not on the ballot,” Hogan told reporters the day after the election. “In Maryland, that’s exactly what happened. It was a repudiation of the president, who lost this state by 30 points.”
Exit polls from The Associated Press and Fox News back up that analysis. Many Marylanders said they were voting against Republicans as a protest against Trump. Two-thirds of Marylanders said Trump was a factor in their vote, and about two-thirds said they have an unfavorable view of Trump.
AP’s VoteCast exit polling found that about a third of Maryland voters said the country is on the right track, compared with 7 in 10 who said the country is headed in the wrong direction. Moreover, 77 percent of Maryland voters said Trump has the wrong temperament to serve as president
“Party identification is an information shortcut everybody uses,” said Mileah Kromer, director of Goucher College’s Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center. “Trump has done some serious damage to the Republican Party label.”
Although Trump has little to do with running local governments in Maryland, he played an outsize role in politics here in 2018 — and not just at the ballot box.
State Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, sued the Trump administration multiple times — over issues ranging from Trump’s
“Brian Frosh really stepped into the role as the leader of the resistance for Maryland,” Kromer said.
Local governments, including Baltimore’s, joined lawsuits against Trump’s actions as well, accusing the president of attempting to “sabotage” the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Hogan formally asked Frosh to file suit against the federal government several times this year, including over environmental issues.
Hogan — who declined to support Trump in 2016 — also spoke out against some Trump policies, including when he pulled back four Maryland National Guard members from the Mexican border when the president’s administration was separating the children of immigrants from their parents.
The governor made few promises about what he would do in a second term, except to assure voters he wouldn’t turn hard to the right and that he would push for tax cuts for retirees.
Congress
Democrats held on to seven of the state’s eight congressional seats as Democrat David Trone, who spent more than $15 million in Maryland’s most expensive race,
Democratic incumbent
The 6th District, though, might look very different in two years; a three-judge federal panel ordered its lines redrawn due to partisan gerrymandering.
Frosh is appealing that decision, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court should hear the case before a new map is created. Hogan, meanwhile, is pushing forward with an effort to comply with the decision by creating a commission to draw a new map.
The lower federal court has granted a stay of its ruling until the Supreme Court rules on the case or July 1, whichever comes first.
General Assembly
The Maryland General Assembly lost another member to corruption as Sen. Nathaniel T. Oaks of Baltimore resigned in March and pleaded guilty to two felony fraud charges. The Democrat admitted to taking $15,300 from an FBI informant who posed as an out-of-town developer and enlisted Oaks in a scheme to defraud the federal government.
Oaks was the second state lawmaker snared by prosecutors in 2018. When the legislature convened on Jan. 11, Del. Michael Vaughn abruptly resigned for what he said were health reasons. The Prince George’s County Democrat was indicted in March on federal corruption charges involving the
And a former Prince George’s delegate, Will Campos, pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy in January for actions he took while serving on the County Council. Also, Gary Brown, an aide to Mayor Catherine Pugh, lost his nomination to represent Baltimore in the House of Delegates after he was charged with campaign finance violations.
Meanwhile, Maryland’s Republican Party had ambitious goals for gains in the
The results mean House Speaker
Legislation
The Democratic-controlled legislature and Hogan agreed in 2018 to work together on some significant legislation. It included a ban of bump stocks, accessories that make semi-automatic weapons function like automatic guns.
A “red flag” law, which allows judges to order the temporary removal of firearms from people considered a danger to themselves or others, also passed.
Constitutional Amendments
In November, voters
A voter registration amendment allows the General Assembly to create a same-day voter registration system; it will allow eligible Marylanders to show up at the polls, register and cast a ballot, all on Election Day. Currently, same-day registration is available only during early voting.
The other amendment, a casino “lockbox” measure, requires that gambling revenues be spent on local public school systems, on top of current minimum funding requirements.