Democratic Dels. Malcolm Ruff and Dalya Attar are vying for the District 41 Senate seat vacated by former Sen. Jill P. Carter, the latest in several legislative openings this year. (Courtesy photos)
When a subset of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee meets Tuesday evening to recommend a replacement for former Sen. Jill P. Carter (D), they will choose from two of the district’s delegates, Dalya Attar (D) and Malcolm Ruff (D).
The two lawmakers applied for the vacancy earlier this week. They’ll make their case to the eight central committee members who represent District 41 during a virtual meeting that starts at 6 p.m. Tuesday. A livestream of the session can be viewed on the central committee’s Facebook page.
After hearing from the candidates, the eight central committee members will vote publicly to forward a name to Gov. Wes Moore (D), who is tasked with appointing Carter’s replacement. Carter resigned earlier this month to become a member of the Maryland Board of Contract Appeals.
Attar was elected to her House seat in 2018. Ruff was appointed to his in the summer of 2023. At that time, the central committee deadlocked on who to recommend for the House vacancy and forwarded two names to Moore; he selected Ruff.
Earlier this month, two delegates squared off for the right to replace now-U.S. Rep. Sarah K. Elfreth (D) in an Anne Arundel County Senate seat. Now-Sen. Shaneka Henson (D) prevailed in a vote by the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee over Del. Dana Jones.
And two delegates are also squaring off in a battle to fill a vacancy in Baltimore County’s 8th Senate district: Harry Bhandari (D) and Carl Jackson (D). The Senate seat is open because the long-time incumbent, Kathy Klausmeier (D), was just appointed Baltimore County executive.
In that race, Jackson recently picked up the endorsement of the third delegate in the district, Nick Allen (D).
“Carl Jackson is a passionate servant leader who always puts the people and communities of District 8 first,” Allen said in a statement. “After serving with him in the House of Delegates, I believe he is the kind of leader that we need and deserve.”
Unboxing the budget
How excited were lawmakers to see Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed operating budget this week?
So excited that two delegates made an Instagram video about it that appears to be going viral — at least within the insular world of the state legislative complex.
The video begins with Dels. Emily Shetty (D-Montgomery) and Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City) sitting by an unopened box of Moore’s budget books. Come for the whispering, stay for the sound effects.
“Hi, I’m Delegate Emily Shetty,” Shetty whispers.
“Hi, I’m Delegate Stephanie Smith,” Smith whispers next.
“We’re here today to do an unboxing of the budget proposed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore,” Shetty whispers.
The two begin a finger drumroll as Shetty proceeds to slowly and noisily open the box.
“Budget,” Shetty whispers.
“Budget,” Smith answers.
Eventually Shetty, with Smith’s assistance, lifts one of the books out of the box.
“Let’s see how this goes,” Shetty whispers.
“Maryland’s counting on us,” Smith says.
“We’ve got this,” Shetty says.
Surely the budget process goes downhill from here.
Ferguson softens on combined reporting
The leader of the Maryland Senate signaled a willingness to consider some taxes he dismissed a year ago.
Maryland faces a potential $3 billion budget shortfall for the fiscal 2026 budget. A solution proposed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) includes a number of tax changes, including combined reporting for corporations as well as surcharges on capital gains.
The proposals pull, in part, from the so-called Fair Share Act — legislation that failed last year and is expected to be re-introduced this session. Last year, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) rejected the tax package. But in a meeting with reporters Friday, Ferguson said 2025 is a new year.
“Look, I think the Senate’s position has generally been, if we don’t have to raise revenues, we shouldn’t,” he replied when asked if the Senate position had changed. “We believe that the more money that is in the private economy that is flowing from Marylanders is the best possible option. However, we also know that it’s critical to protect our values, and that in the case that we have to explore revenues, we need to do it in a way that does not hit lower- and middle-income families in Maryland who are really suffering the most from rising prices.”
Lierman, Brown war chests
State Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) has built a campaign war chest of close to $1 million for her 2026 reelection.
In campaign finance reports released last week, Lierman reported raising $563,554 between Jan. 11, 2024 and Jan. 8 of this year. She spent $207,437 over the past year, and reported $952,422 in her war chest as of Jan. 8.
Attorney General Anthony Brown’s fundraising take in 2024 was more modest.
Brown (D) reported raising $154,449 over the past 12 months, and finishing the year with $462,582, after spending $66,293 during that period.
Brown, who is also up for reelection in 2026, and Lierman do not have announced opponents at this early stage of the election cycle.