Maryland
Kimberly Klacik, conservative radio host, running for Congress in Maryland’s 2nd District
Conservative radio host Kimberly Klacik is running for Congress again.
Klacik filed Thursday for the Republican primary in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District.
“It’s a big decision that I made in the past couple weeks,” Klacik said on social media. “It’s going to be hard work, but you know what I’ve never shyed away from hard work.”
The seat has been held since 2003 by outgoing Democrat C.A.Dutch Ruppersberger, who won the first general election since the district’s map was redrawn with 59% of the vote in November 2022. According to polling site fivethirtyeight.com, the district leans Democratic by 11 percentage points.
In November 2020, Klacik, who hosts a weekday radio show from 9 a.m. to noon on WCBM 680 AM, lost to U.S. Rep Kweisi Mfume by 43 percentage points in Maryland’s 7th District, which encompasses most of Baltimore City and part of Baltimore County. The 2nd District consists of parts of Carroll and Baltimore counties and part of North Baltimore.
Klacik gained national media attention ahead of the 2020 election when then-President Donald Trump shared one of her campaign videos on social media. She raised $8.3 million that cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Klacik raised nearly $5.7 million from contributions $200 and under. She raised around $384,000 from California residents, $375,000 from Florida residents, $339,000 from Texas residents and $223,000 from Maryland residents, according to FEC records. Klacik raised more in that two-year congressional campaign cycle than all but about a dozen current U.S. House members, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Records showed that she paid more than $4 million during that race to Republican-oriented digital advertising and media companies to elevate her profile.
A two-minute video of Klacik speaking aired during the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Last month, Klacik participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by Baltimore Sun columnist and part-owner Armstrong Williams on Fox Baltimore, a television station owned by Sun owner David D. Smith.
Klacik posted a photo on social media at the State Board of Elections on Thursday alongside Republican State Dels. Brian Chisholm of Anne Arundel County, Kathy Szeliga of Baltimore County, Ryan Nawrocki of Baltimore County and Matt Morgan of St. Mary’s County, as well as Moms for Liberty Carroll County chair Kit Hart.
Excited to announce I have filed to run in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District. It’s currently an open seat & redistricted, making it competitive for a republican to flip.
Thank you, Delegate Chisholm, Chairwoman Kit Hart, Delegate Szeliga, Delegate Nawrocki & Delegate Morgan… pic.twitter.com/IH2xoZNtVp
— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) February 8, 2024
Ruppersberger said in January that he would not seek a 12th term. Klacik, who listed a Middle River P.O. Box in her campaign filing, joins John Thormann, a former small-business owner who lives in Sparrows Point, and Dave Wallace, owner of Chesapeake Kitchen Wholesalers in Sykesville, in the Republican primary, according to the State Board of Elections.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., of Dundalk, State Del. Harry Bhandari, of Nottingham, Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School teacher Athanasia “Sia” Kyriakakos, of Cockeysville, LifeBridge Health medical assistant Jessica Sjoberg, of Catonsville, and insurance agent Clint Spellman Jr., of Reisterstown, have filed for the Democratic primary, according to the State Board of Elections.
The filing deadline for the May 14 primary is 9 p.m. Friday. The general election is Nov. 5.
Maryland
Maryland residents question new paint can fee amid growing costs
MARYLAND (WBFF) — A trip to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) left some drivers stunned by higher costs that they say are piling up across the state.
Tony Joshua said he walked away when he saw what it would cost to register his vehicle.
“Sticker shock? (laughs),” he said. “I turned right around and got out of the line. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have it.”
ALSO READ | Maryland’s new paint fees spark outrage as recycling nonprofit isn’t registered in state
The cost of registering, titling and inspecting a vehicle in Maryland doubled last year, but the fee increases don’t stop at the MVA. The Maryland legislature has approved more than 300 new fees in the past two years including a tire tax, a tech tax and a vending machine tax.
“It’s just like greed more than anything,” Baltimore resident Clifton Parrot said.
Baltimore resident Sheila Bowling questioned how the additional funding is being used.
“This is the million dollar question. Nobody knows what those fees are doing. Everything is high in the city,” she said.
If I’m dodging potholes, where is the money going?” Joshua asked.
One of the latest fees will be attached to every gallon of paint sold in Maryland and will go to a nonprofit organization that will manage Maryland’s paint recycling program. But FOX45 News has learned that the nonprofit, PaintCare, isn’t registered as a nonprofit in the state of Maryland, even though it’s set to receive a dollar fee for every gallon of paint sold in the state.
Joshua said the growing costs have him questioning whether he can stay in Maryland.
“It flabbergasts me where the money is going. Sometimes I’m like ‘dude, do I stay here?’” he said.
Bowling said, “This shouldn’t be happening in 2026 this shouldn’t be happening.”
For many Marylanders, the rising fees have strained budgets and morale, with some saying they can no longer afford the increasing price of driving.
“I’m just at my wits end about it. I’m like when do we, the taxpayers get a break?” Joshua asked.
Maryland
Deadly motorcycle crash closes busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Montgomery Co. – WTOP News
A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.
A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.
Montgomery County police said officers responded around 6:15 a.m. to a report of a crash involving a car and a motorcycle at Manor Road and Connecticut Avenue.
A motorcyclist was found in serious condition. Police said the man died at the scene.
A woman driving the car was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Connecticut Avenue is closed in both directions between Jones Bridge Road and Manor Road as police investigate the collision.
The crash is the latest in a series of deadly motorcycle incidents across Maryland, including a deadly hit-and-run in Charles County that left one man dead Saturday.
A map of the area is below.
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Maryland
Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults
MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland lawmakers have approved a bill that would end the automatic charging of certain juveniles as adults and is now on its way to the governor’s office for review.
The Youth Charging Reform Act passed the House of Delegates on Monday after clearing the Senate last week. The bill aims to end the automatic charging of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain drug, assault, and gun offenses.
ALSO READ | Bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults inches closer to passage
The bill drew significant opposition from several top prosecutors in Maryland, including Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
For months, they’ve warned that the change could weaken accountability and pose public safety risks.
“DJS is not equipped to deal with these increased violent offenders, and the legislature should defer the implementation of this bill until the programs are in place,” McCarthy said.
Maryland sheriffs also joined the pushback, including Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees, who previously said, “This is not a smart move, by any means, I don’t like it because, and I think by and large, law enforcement doesn’t like it, because we don’t have a whole lot of trust in the juvenile court system and the DJS system.”
ALSO READ | FOX45 sends video of prosecutors’ concerns to lawmakers backing juvenile justice bill
Supporters of the bill argued that most cases end up in the juvenile system regardless, and therefore, it makes sense to start them in the Department of Juvenile Services.
“They’re already ingesting that work anyway; they’re already doing that workload anyway,” Sen. Will Smith, lead sponsor of the legislation, previously told FOX45 News. “We’re just wasting time and money by sending them to the adult system first.”
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The bill now awaits at Gov. Wes Moore’s desk for a final decision.
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