The front two rows of the Maryland Senate, the seats occupied by the chamber’s powerful committee chairmen and vice chairmen, will have an almost entirely new look come January – dramatic fallout from an unusually large wave of retirements, primary take-downs and incumbents seeking other offices.
At a minimum, 15 of the Senate’s 47 seats will have new occupants, 16 if you include the seat of former Sen. Nathaniel T. Oaks (D-Baltimore City), who resigned in March and was replaced by Jill Carter (D) after the legislature adjourned. In addition, there are at least three other incumbents who will have competitive races this November.
Depending on how those battles play out, fully one-third of the chamber could be new in 2019.
More striking even than the amount of turnover hitting the Senate is the virtual wipeout of committee leadership.
Consider:
— The influential Budget & Taxation committee has lost both its leaders. Chairman Edward J. Kasemeyer (D-Howard/Baltimore counties) chose not to seek another term, and Vice Chairman Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery) ran for governor.
— The top two seats on Senate Finance are open, with the unexpected primary defeat of longtime Chair Thomas M. “Mac” Middleton (D-Charles), who lost to Arthur Ellis, and the retirement of Vice Chairman John C. Astle (D-Anne Arundel).
— The head of Education, Health and Environment Affairs, Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore), trails primary foe Mary L. Washington, a District 43 delegate, by 469 votes in a race that remains too close to call. It is widely expected that Conway will come up short when all the votes are counted.
— President Pro Tem Nathaniel J. McFadden (D-Baltimore City) was taken out by Del. Cory V. McCray
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Bruce DePuyt over at Maryland Matters