No Surprise: Biden Is Dem Establishment Choice, Convention Filings Show
Several leading Maryland Democrats are lining up behind the presidential campaign of former vice president Joe Biden, according to the roster of candidates trying to become delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this summer.
The emergence of Biden as the establishment choice in Maryland is hardly surprising, and matches the national trend.
The filing deadline for candidates interested in appearing on the April 28 Democratic primary ballot to become convention delegates was Friday; but just because they’ve filed to run doesn’t mean they’ll actually be on the primary day ballot. The presidential campaigns must designate their delegate candidates by Feb. 3; those not on the approved list won’t appear on the ballot.
Whether Maryland will be relevant by the time the primary rolls around is another question. The Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating process on Feb. 3. The New Hampshire primary is next, on Feb. 11.
Still, it is instructive to see where leading Democrats in Maryland are landing in the presidential scrum. And it’s worth noting that Maryland’s lone presidential contender, former U.S. Rep. John K. Delaney, who was the very first candidate to enter the race, back in 2017, has less than a handful of delegate candidates running as his supporters.
Here are some of the leading Maryland Democrats who have filed to run as convention delegates:
For former vice president Joe Biden:
Ex-Anne Arundel County Democratic chairman Patrick Armstrong
State Del. Darryl Barnes
Del. Erek Barron
State Sen. Pamela Beidle
Del. Harry Bhandari
Maryland State Education Association President Cheryl Bost
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy
Ex-state Sen. James Brochin
Ex-Del. Eric Bromwell
Ex-Del. Galen R. Clagett
Ex-Del. Gene Counihan
Maryland Citizens Health Initiative President Vincent DeMarco
Del. Diane M. Fennell
Del. Wanika Fisher
Annapolis lobbyist Hannah Powers Garagiola
Gabrielle M. Glendening, daughter of ex-Gov. Parris N. Glendening
Sen. Antonio L. Hayes
Del. Anne R. Healey
Del. Shelly L. Hettleman*
Former Rockville mayor Susan R. Hoffmann
Ex-Del. Carolyn J.B. Howard
Senate Majority Leader Nancy J. King
Del. Mary A. Lehman
Annapolis lobbyist Leonard Lucchi**
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby
Del. Joseline A. Pena-Melnyk
Ex-Washington County Democratic Chairman Peter E. Perini Sr.
Anne Arundel County Councilman Andrew C. Pruski
Del. Dana Stein
Ex-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Del. Courtney Watson
Del. Karen Lewis Young
For former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg:
Annapolis lobbyist Camille G. Fesche
Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan
Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Z. Slavin
For former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg:
Del. Benjamin Barnes
Ex-Cumberland mayor Brian K. Grim
Howard County Register of Wills Byron E. Macfarlane
Del. Maggie L. McIntosh
Del. Lily Qi
Ex-Queen Anne’s County commissioner Gene M. Ransom III
Del. Kirill Reznik
Sen. William C. Smith Jr.
Del. Jared Solomon
Ex-Maryland Democratic chairwoman Susan W. Turnbull
Del. Patrick Young
For Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders:
Del. Gabriel Acevero
Prince George’s County Board of Education member Edward Burroughs III
Ex-Talbot County Attorney Michael Pullen
Delegate-nominee Sheila Ruth***
Del. Vaughn Stewart
Ex-Del. Jimmy Tarlau
For Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren:
Maryland Working Families founder Charly Carter
Del. Lorig Charkoudian
Ex-congressional nominee Andrew Duck
Prince George’s County Education Association President Theresa Mitchell Dudley
Sen. Arthur Ellis
Del. Jessica Feldmark
Frederick County Councilwoman Jessica Fitzwater
Montgomery County Councilman Evan Glass
Ex-Montgomery County Democratic chairman Scott Goldberg
Prince George’s County Councilwoman Jolene Ivey
Ex-Del. Barbara Osborn Kreamer
Ex-Baltimore County Democratic chairman Robbie Leonard
House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke
Ex-SEIU leader Mark McLaurin
Del. David Moon
Ex-Montgomery County Board of Education member Jill Ortman-Fouse
Ex-Sen. Victor Ramirez
Howard County Councilwoman Christiana M. Rigby
Del. Stephanie Smith
Prince George’s County Councilwoman Deni Taveras
Del. Jen Terrasa
Del. Jheanelle Wilkins
Del. Nicole A. Williams
Running as uncommitted delegates:
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball
Montgomery County Councilman Tom Hucker
Del. Ken Kerr
Sen. Clarence K. Lam
Del. Mike Rogers
Del. Emily Shetty
SOURCE: Maryland State Board of Elections
*Has been nominated to fill a vacancy in the state Senate, but has not been formally appointed
**Mr. Lucchi is a member of the Maryland Matters Board of Directors
***Has been nominated to fill a vacancy in the House of Delegates but has not been formally appointed
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
Related Articles
Some elected officials were surprised and disappointed that they were left off the list of officially sanctioned Biden delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Maryland’s Harris votes against all the foreign aid measures; Raskin joins 36 progressive Democrats voting against aid to Israel bill.
All 10 members of the Maryland congressional delegation have sponsored the measure, including the lone Republican, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris.
Creative Commons Attribution