Retired Judge and Former First Lady Katie O’Malley to Run for Attorney General

Katie Curran O’Malley (D), a recently retired judge and a former first lady of Maryland, launched her bid for state Attorney General on Wednesday with a 90-second campaign video and a press release.

Her decision sets up a marquee battle between former Gov. Martin O’Malley’s wife and the man who served as his lieutenant governor, Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D).

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O’Malley is the daughter of J. Joseph Curran Jr. (D), who was a legislator, lieutenant governor, and spent a record five terms as attorney general.

“As a kid, I think my parents instilled in all of us the notion that everyone needs to be treated equally, everyone deserves justice, and everyone deserves a chance — a fair chance,” O’Malley says in the video.

She stepped down as a District Court judge in Baltimore just days after incumbent Brian E. Frosh (D) announced that he will not seek a third term as A.G. He was considered a near shoo-in if he had decided to run again.

Within weeks of his announcement, O’Malley set up a fundraising committee and began assembling a campaign team.

Brown, a three-term member of the U.S. House representing parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, announced his bid within hours of Frosh making his plans to retire known. He has racked up numerous endorsements since launching his candidacy.

The Washington Post was the first to report on O’Malley’s campaign launch.

In a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, O’Malley pledged to “protect Marylanders from violent crime” and be “a crusader for criminal justice reform.”

A former assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore County, she was appointed to the District Court of Baltimore City in 2001.

“I think I had a reputation of being tough but fair,” she said, speaking to an off-camera interviewer in the launch video. “…I have the right experience to be Maryland’s next attorney general on Day 1 because of the 30 years I’ve spent every day in the courts, working with people, day in and day out.”

Brown has been endorsed by Reps. David J. Trone (D) and Kweisi Mfume (D), Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) and most members of the Prince George’s County Council.

State Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), the first-term chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, has said that he is “seriously” exploring a bid for attorney general but has yet to announce his plans. The General Assembly convenes in special session next week.

Republican activist James F. Shalleck, a Montgomery County defense attorney and former chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, announced his candidacy in July.

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