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Maryland Dem lawmaker runs taxpayer-funded nonprofit with audit struggles

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Maryland Dem lawmaker runs taxpayer-funded nonprofit with audit struggles


A Baltimore nonprofit run by a Maryland lawmaker received more than $100 million in taxpayer dollars while auditors repeatedly flagged problems with its financial reporting and internal oversight, according to a Spotlight on Maryland investigation.

Del. Dana Stein, a Baltimore County Democrat, has worked as the executive director of Civic Works for roughly two decades while serving in the statehouse. Civic Works, which has received about $145 million in taxpayer funding since 2016, runs workforce, housing, environmental and community revitalization programs, primarily in the Baltimore area.

Stein earns more than $200,000 annually at Civic Works and has served in the General Assembly since 2007. He chairs the Maryland House environmental subcommittee. Civic Works receives government funding for programs involving weatherization, energy efficiency, clean-energy workforce development and environmental projects.

Stein insisted he goes through the proper process of reporting conflicts of interest to the State House and recusing himself from relevant votes. Meanwhile, critics say that State House policies are not enough to prevent Stein from taking advantage of his legislative influence over billions of taxpayer dollars, especially amid ongoing audit struggles at his organization.

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A Spotlight on Maryland analysis of the nonprofit’s federal single audits—the annual audits required for organizations that spend at least $750,000 in federal funds—shows Civic Works received about $145 million in taxpayer funding between 2016 and 2025. Government funding averaged about $14.5 million per year and accounted for roughly 80% of the organization’s support during that period when stacked against private donations.

Audits show that federal funds were passed through to Civic Works by an extensive list of agencies within the Maryland and Baltimore City governments.

In 2006, the year before Stein took office, Civic Works received $1.9 million in government grants, according to IRS tax filings. By 2016, Civic Works received $8.2 million in government grants—a roughly 330% increase over a decade.

IRS tax filings from Civic Works show Stein earned about $96,000 in 2014 and approximately $231,000 in 2024—an increase of about 140%.

Maryland Del. Brian Chisholm, an Anne Arundel County Republican, questioned the ethics of Stein making more than $200,000 at a taxpayer-funded nonprofit as he works in the State House. He also questioned how Stein could manage tens of millions of taxpayer dollars while he worked full-time as a lawmaker for roughly a quarter of the year.

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“I think it’s a waste of taxpayer money, in my opinion, because I don’t see the return on investment,” he told Spotlight on Maryland. “I would assume they’re political payoffs It goes back to the dawn of time when we first got into politics and power. How do you influence politics? You influence with money.”

What the audits found

The most recent single audit, covering fiscal 2025, reported a significant deficiency in financial reporting at Civic Works—a repeat finding from the previous year. Auditors said Civic Works had to correct more than $2.2 million in financial records after auditors identified errors in the organization’s financial records. Civic Works told auditors it implemented new grant-tracking and financial reporting procedures in response.

Auditors also determined the nonprofit did not qualify for the federal government’s low-risk auditee designation.

The 2024 audit identified both a significant deficiency and a material weakness, a more severe audit finding. Auditors said the organization’s initial federal expenditures schedule omitted programs, misclassified expenditures and left off about $1 million in federal spending before it was corrected. Auditors again determined Civic Works did not qualify as a low-risk auditee.

The pattern stretches back years. In 2023, auditors reported a material weakness involving lease accounting and financial reporting that resulted in a restatement of prior-year balances. In 2021, auditors reported a material weakness involving revenue recognition and accounting, resulting in another financial restatement.

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In 2019, auditors identified a significant deficiency involving federal grant compliance after required documentation for an employee background check could not be produced. In 2017, auditors reported a significant deficiency after required federal grant reports were submitted without documented review.

Linda Parsons, a professor at The University of Alabama focused on nonprofit accounting, said the repeated audit findings, paired with a determination that Civic Works is not a low-risk auditee, show the organization should not continue to receive taxpayer dollars.

“I would be particularly careful with this organization if I were providing grant funding,” she told Spotlight on Maryland. “What I see is that a lawmaker with influence and power in the granting process is moving increasingly large grants to an organization with which that lawmaker is affiliated, and that there’s trouble with the reports that are overseeing the use of those grants.”

Chisholm agreed that Civic Works should not receive any more taxpayer money.

“I think they need to be looked at with a fine-tooth comb. Why are you failing so many audits, and do you actually deserve the millions of dollars?” he told Spotlight on Maryland. “The funding should dry up at some point because you can’t prove that you’re spending the public’s money in a responsible way.”

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Civic Works responds

A spokeswoman for Civic Works emailed Spotlight on Maryland a statement on behalf of the organization and Stein, emphasizing that the lawmaker takes necessary steps to ensure there is not a conflict of interest between his two jobs.

“Since his election in 2006, Mr. Stein has regularly consulted with the legislature’s ethics adviser to avoid actual and potential conflicts between his legislative and non-profit roles. He has always followed the ethics adviser’s advice regarding disclosure of potential conflicts and actual recusal on votes. He has disclosed and disclaimed potential or appearances of a conflict and those forms are on the Maryland General Assembly website,” the Civic Works spokeswoman wrote.

“Mr. Stein has followed all advice from the legislature’s ethics adviser regarding recusal from matters that would create a conflict of interest between his legislative and non-profit roles. He does not interact with government officials in matters related to procurements or negotiation of contracts,” she added.

Salary spending increases 100%

IRS filings show Civic Works expanded rapidly in recent years amid audit struggles. The nonprofit reported 286 employees in 2020 and 347 employees in 2024—a roughly 21% increase—while spending on salaries increased from $5.8 million to $12 million—a roughly 100% increase. Payroll accounted for between 58% and 68% of annual spending during those years.

Stein lists his position with Civic Works on his financial disclosure statement. His disclosure also lists the state agencies from which his nonprofit receives funding.

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Stein filed a Form D disclaimer of an apparent or presumed conflict of interest this year, noting that while Civic Works has a partnership with BGE, he is “able to participate in legislative action relating to the above fairly, objectively, and in the public interest.”

Since 2013, Stein has filed 25 Form E statements of recusal from voting and other legislative actions due to a reported conflict of interest arising from his employment with Civic Works. However, the last recusal he reported was in 2023, even though his organization received taxpayer dollars from the Maryland government in subsequent years.

‘Accountable to the public’

Parsons said that while Stein may be following legally required conflict-of-interest policies, he still has a concerning level of influence over the grantmaking process.

“The conflict of interest, that to me is probably the most troubling thing,” she told Spotlight on Maryland. “If you have an individual that’s in charge of a nonprofit that’s also elected to office, that’s not necessarily a problem. But when money is steered toward that organization and increasing amounts at all levels, then I would want to know who’s making sure that this is operating properly.”

A spokeswoman for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s office emailed a statement to Spotlight on Maryland that emphasized the federal single audits of Civic Works do not assess how state funding is spent. Maryland state agencies, she wrote, have their own individual oversight mechanisms in place.

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“The Moore-Miller administration is committed to ensuring every dollar of taxpayer funding is awarded fairly, spent responsibly, and accountable to the public,” Moore’s spokeswoman wrote.

Several agencies within the Maryland government provided written statements to Spotlight on Maryland detailing various individual oversight policies for programs they fund at Civic Works. The Maryland agencies stated that no action has been taken in response to findings in Civic Works’ federal single audits.

$1 lease in Baltimore

Civic Works operates at Clifton Mansion, the former estate of philanthropist Johns Hopkins. The nonprofit has a lease agreement with Baltimore City that allows them to pay just $1 per year to use, maintain and renovate the property.

Additionally, Civic Works has received $13.5 million in taxpayer dollars through the Baltimore City government since August 2022, according to a government database. This included $4.5 million in taxpayer dollars from the Baltimore City Health Department to Civic Works from 2022 to 2024, described in the database as being for “Coronavirus.”

A spokesperson for Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott’s office emphasized that the city “employs best practices for grant administration, signing grant agreements that ensure transparency and accountability.”

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The spokesperson noted that recent federal audits of Civic Works “identified no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal controls over federal programs, finding that Civic Works complied with all requirements that could have a material effect on its major federal programs.”

The mayor’s office did not respond to additional questions on audit concerns at Civic Works regarding financial reporting and scheduled expenditures for federal awards.

Civic Works is partnered with Baltimore City Public Schools to operate the “Reach! Partnership School,” which prepares students for college and careers. The 2025 federal single audits revealed the organization received $9.7 million from Baltimore City Public Schools that year. Reach is incorporated separately but included in the audits because Civic Works manages the organization.

A spokeswoman for City Schools said they consider federal audit findings as part of their oversight of Civic Works.

“We will continue to monitor the Operator’s progress to confirm that the audit issues have been appropriately resolved,” the spokeswoman emailed Spotlight on Maryland. “City Schools will also continue to review audits and other financial documents to ensure the organization is on track and making progress consistent with its Corrective Action plan and regular contractual requirements.”

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Spotlight on Maryland is a joint venture by The Baltimore Sun, FOX45 News and WJLA in Washington, D.C. Have a news tip? Call 410-467-4670 or emailSpotlightOnMaryland@sbgtv.com. Contact Patrick Hauf atpjhauf@sbgtv.comand @PatrickHauf.



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SCOTUS holds the fates of 20,000 Haitian TPS recipients on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

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SCOTUS holds the fates of 20,000 Haitian TPS recipients on Maryland’s Eastern Shore


Real journalists wrote and edited this (not AI)—independent, community-driven journalism survives because you back it. Donate to sustain Prism’s mission and the humans behind it.

Seven days after giving birth to a son in Salisbury, Maryland, immigration authorities took away 27-year-old Emane Alexandre’s husband following a scheduled court appearance for their pending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and asylum applications.  

This form of government protection, granted by the Department of Homeland Security, is issued to immigrants who are unable to safely return to their home countries due to armed conflict, an environmental disaster, an epidemic, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. TPS was established for Haitians 16 years ago, following the devastating 2010 Earthquake in Haiti that killed hundreds of thousands. 

There are approximately 350,000 Haitians with TPS in the U.S., and more than 20,000 Haitians on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. President Donald Trump has attempted to end TPS for multiple countries—including Haiti. TPS expired for the country on Feb. 3, though it was temporarily stayed by a federal judge. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene, and now, thousands of families are in limbo as they await the court’s decision this month in Miot v. Trump

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Not only does Alexandre’s fate in the U.S. rest with the stacked Supreme Court, but so does her son’s. The court will also issue a decision this month on birthright citizenship, determining whether the children of newly arrived undocumented parents are U.S. citizens. 

The administration’s ongoing xenophobic attacks have wreaked havoc on immigrant communities. This is especially true for Haitians, who found legal protection in the U.S. and whose futures in the country are now uncertain. 

“The immigration system is slavery”

In October 2023, Alexandre fled her home in the Haitian-Dominican border town of Ouanaminthe, where the Earth is hot and the Dajabon River, also known as the Massacre River, separates the two countries. She left following an armed attack that destroyed her clothing business. Kidnapped, violated, and scared for her life, she felt unsafe staying in the country. Violence continues to roil the region. In February, four decapitated Haitian women were found along the border in Ouanaminthe.

Like many migrants from across the world, Alexandre made her way to Mexico in 2023 in hopes of requesting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. This is where she met Wesley Pericles, who made the trek up from Chile. The couple was stuck in Mexico for close to a year waiting for an asylum appointment. Eventually, Alexandre and Pericles were paroled into Texas on Christmas Eve 2024 to await their asylum hearing in the U.S. Alexandre was six months pregnant at the time. “I was finally able to take a breath,” she said.

They immediately made their way to Salisbury, where Pericles had a friend working in a poultry processing plant, a $4.6 billion industry that has shaped the region. Along the Eastern Shore, a coastal region that includes Delaware, Maryland, and parts of Virginia, industrial poultry farms and processing plants dot the landscape, creating company towns. Historically, the region was a hub for slavery. It was also the birthplace of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, and a throughway for the Underground Railroad. Today, more than two-thirds of workers in meat and poultry processing industries are Black or Latinx and an estimated 40% to 50% are migrants.

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Salisbury, Maryland is home to more than 5,000 Haitian TPS recipients who are awaiting a Supreme Court decision this month that will determine if they can be deported. Credit: Jess Dipierro Obert

Immigrants account for 17% of Maryland’s population, and they are the primary workforce for poultry giants in the region, such as Perdue and Mountaire Farms. In nearby Wicomico and Sussex Counties, the overwhelming majority of residents voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Ronald Cameron, CEO of Mountaire Farms, was a major donor to Trump’s campaign. Last summer, ahead of TPS expiring for Haiti, Mountaire plants laid off TPS workers who did not have a five-year work permit.

Mountaire did not respond to Prism’s request for comment.  

One of Mounaire’s laid-off workers was Jean-Ronald Petit-Frere. In Haiti, the 47-year-old worked as a security guard for a Christian nonprofit. He reported armed group members to the police and he received death threats in return. He fled the port town of Leogane for the Haitian island La Gonave, where he was born. But the threats followed, so he hopped on a container ship to Puerto Rico.  

His cousin was kidnapped, and his 16-year-old daughter was murdered in retribution for his cooperation with police. Four of his children remain in Haiti today. 

After applying for both TPS and asylum, Petit-Frere received a work permit. In 2021, he joined his childhood friend in Salisbury, where he found work at Mountaire in 2022. He worked for the company for three years, earning enough to enroll his children in school in Haiti. He finally felt as if his life was moving forward, but last summer, he received a letter from the government instructing him to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ultimately, he was given the choice to state his case in front of a judge or self-deport for $1,000. He took his chances in front of a judge and was allowed to remain in the U.S.—for now. 

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Soon after his court appearance, Petit-Frere lost his job. Though free, his life still hangs in the balance.  

“I have nowhere else to go,” said Petit-Frere, his voice breaking as he considered the possibility of deportation. “If I go back they will kill me—they will kill my children.”

Another Haitian TPS recipient discarded by Mountaire is Venise Paul. She and her husband, also a Mountaire worker, bought a house in Salisbury in 2023, and their young children go to school in the area. The 40-year-old has lived in the U.S. for 12 years, and she started packing chicken at Mountaire in 2019. In January, she and her husband were laid off, a week apart. She begged Mountaire to let her stay, but management refused. 

“I came here for a better life, I paid taxes, I haven’t done anything bad in the country,” she said. 

Haitian TPS recipient, Venise Paul and her two youngest children stare out the window of their Salisbury, Maryland home.
Photo by Jess Dipierro Obert

Ultimately, whether an immigrant pays taxes or has a clean record has little bearing on whether they become targets for deportation—and this is especially true for Black immigrants under the Trump administration. Trump vowed to carry out mass deportations during his second term, and Black immigrants have been a regular target of the president’s racism and xenophobia.

“If you do not have a green card or citizenship, the immigration system can feel like slavery all over again,” said Dr. Marie D Bernadette Fouché, a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consultant and the founder and president of Safe Harbor Circles, an organization that provides support to immigrant communities across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. 

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Caption: Dr. Marie-Bernadette Fouché is a Haitian activist and the founder and president of Safe Harbor Circles, an organization that provides support to immigrant communities across the Eastern Shore. Photo by Jess Dipierro Obert

The uptick in local job loss has caused some of Maryland’s migrant workers to become homeless, according to Rebirth, a Haitian nonprofit in Salisbury that supports the immigrant community. As unrest spiked in Haiti in 2024, Rebirth assisted 20-30 new immigrants a day, connecting them to government aid, healthcare, and other services. 

Every Thursday, Rebirth’s founder, Habucuc Petion, and his wife Eddline, open a food bank for the community. The organization’s food bank was packed with community members in February after TPS for Haiti expired. Advocate Kenson Raymond stood at the front of the room and explained their rights in Haitian Creole, while members of the Black immigrants rights organization Haitian Bridge Alliance distributed packets about the Supreme Court’s TPS case and how recipients can prove work authorization in the interim.

 In February, before a court order paused the expiration of Haiti’s TPS designation, Haitian immigrants gathered at a monthly food pantry organized by Rebirth4Hope, a Haitian organization in Salisbury, MD. Local advocate Kenson Raymond, featured on the right, spoke to the crowd in Haitian Creole, explaining their rights. Photo by Jess Dipierro Obert

In more recent months, the food bank’s attendance has dropped from 300 to 150—not because needs have lessened, but because people are afraid. The organization currently delivers directly to 19 people too scared to leave their homes.

“A lot of people had a few months left on their TPS and [poultry processing plants] let them go,” Petion said. “It’s like they are disposable.”

The court decision pausing the termination of TPS gave some hope they could begin working again. When Paul heard the news, she returned to Mountaire and once again asked for her job back. Again, management said no. Her husband now drives for Uber and the couple relies on food stamps to help feed their children. 

Broadly, the court stay did not result in TPS recipients obtaining new work permit cards, said Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. According to advocates, the uncertainties around TPS are driving the hiring decisions of local poultry processing plants. 

“They don’t want to take the risk to hire or bring back someone who they will have to let go again in a month or two,” Raymond said. 

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The targeting of Haitian immigrants in Maryland has made life in the region even more precarious. 

Lyna Cobite, 60, had TPS since 2010 and lived in Salisbury for more than two decades. Her standing as a local, respected tax-paying business owner and mother of two American citizens did not save her from the Trump administration. 

On May 15, Pastor Roosevelt Toussaint of the World of Life Center drove Cobite to what she believed would be a routine immigration appointment. However, Cobite didn’t return from the appointment. ICE detained her, claiming it had no record of her status as a TPS recipient. She was detained in Baltimore. “I feel very bad,” Toussaint said. “I encouraged her to go.”

Cobite’s niece, Patricia Vilacon, fought for her release. “My heart [was] pounding,” said Vilacon, describing the moment she learned her aunt was detained. “I [felt] the same exact pain as when my mom passed.” 

After three days, Cobite was released, though she’s being monitored by ICE. “I just want her to be free,” her niece told Prism.

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No safe return 

Apart from video calls, Alexandre hasn’t seen her husband, Pericles, since last May. 

Pericles, 32, was taken by ICE in May 2025 when the Trump administration first rolled out nationwide enforcement operations. Agents detained Pericles at a routine immigration appointment, in violation of basic due process. 

In search of legal support, Alexandre connected with Jozef of Haitian Bridge Alliance. The organization provided three-months of rent assistance and offered a pro-bono lawyer. While tremendously helpful, Alexandre was still distraught. 

The first week following her husband’s detainment, the stress made it difficult for her to breastfeed or to even remember her own name. The trauma of family separation one week after giving birth was too much to bear. 

After Pericles’ detainment, Alexandre was left alone to raise their son while her husband spent a year shuffled between ICE detention centers in Louisiana and New Jersey. While in New Jersey, a judge ordered Pericles’ deportation for Nov. 10, 2025, but it was delayed for months. Living in a cramped cell with more than 100 people, he eventually found himself begging for a flight home. 

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“I was suffering from a fever that wouldn’t go away, headache, and a terrible toothache,” he later explained over a WhatsApp video call from Haiti. “I couldn’t eat.” While seemingly innocuous, a toothache can be deadly, given the inadequate healthcare and dire conditions inside detention centers. Earlier this year in Arizona, a detained Haitian man died from an untreated toothache. 

During the first week of 2026, with his hands and legs shackled, ICE deported Pericles to Northern Haiti. In February, Alexandre was issued her own deportation order for March 11, but it was stayed after an emergency appeal by her lawyer. 

In the months since, she received a work permit, but she is too scared to leave her apartment. 

Despite her fear, she is not ready to give up on her dream of reuniting her family in the U.S. Her son, after all, is an American citizen—at least for now. 

The topic of guardianship has become a regular focus of conversation among Haitian TPS recipients. Alexandre recently asked Fouché if she might be her son’s guardian— just in case. 

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“I don’t know what to do yet,” Alexandre said. “I would like to work, pay my bills, get my husband back so we can be together again.”

Emane Alexandre holds her phone up so that her son can speak to his father, Wesley Pericles. The family was separated just one week after the baby was born, when Pericles was taken by ICE at a routine immigration hearing. He has since been deported to Haiti. Photo by Jess Dipierro Obert

Currently, there is no legal way for Pericles to return to the U.S., and he finds himself displaced in Haiti as well, after armed groups in Artibonite set his parent’s home and small garden on fire. According to the United Nations, the armed group Gran Grif killed upward of 70 people in March as part of a massacre in the area, burning and looting more than 50 homes.

More broadly, Haiti is still reeling from the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which gave armed groups expansive control of more than 90% of the Haitian capital and national highways connecting the country. Women are at high risk of sexual violence, and more than 1.4 million people have been displaced. In May, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) was forced to close a hospital in Port-au-Prince’s Cité Soleil neighborhood after it was flooded with gunshot victims and more than 800 people seeking refuge—a reflection of the healthcare crisis awaiting those sent back. 

“People are risking their lives simply to reach a medical facility,” said MSF U.S. CEO Tirana Hassan in a statement.  

These are the conditions Alexandre and thousands of others are fearful of returning to, and these are the conditions the U.S. government ignores as it deports Haitians such as Pericles. Even the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince remains closed due to armed groups shooting at airliners. Since July 2018, the State Department has given the country a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning, and the U.S. ban on international aviation to the country was recently extended through September. 

Still, deportation flights to Haiti continue.

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Editorial Team:

Tina Vasquez, Lead Editor

Lara Witt, Top Editor

Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor

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On primary Election Day in Maryland, voters are deciding several highly competitive races – WTOP News

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On primary Election Day in Maryland, voters are deciding several highly competitive races – WTOP News


Maryland voters are choosing party nominees for state legislative offices, governor and some of the costliest congressional contests in the country.

Follow WTOP’s team coverage of June 23 Maryland primary and Election 2026 online, on air at 103.5 FM or on the WTOP News app.

Maryland voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to decide a wide range of primaries, including state legislative offices, governor and some of the costliest congressional contests in the country.

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All the General Assembly seats are up for election this year, though Republicans are not offering GOP candidates in all their primaries.

The Maryland governor’s race

Gov. Wes Moore is seeking a second term and is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Eric Felber, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress two years ago against Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents Maryland’s 8th District.

Moore and Felber are joined on their respective tickets by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller and Felber’s running mate, LaTrece Hawkins Lytes.

Moore, who has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2028, is hoping for a strong showing but has downplayed White House aspirations.

In the Republican primary for governor, nine candidates are competing to face Moore in November.

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The GOP candidates leading the field in campaign contributions and expenditures are Ed Hale, a Baltimore banker who switched parties last year, and Dan Cox, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Cox is angling for a rematch with Moore. He was the Republican nominee for in the 2022 governor’s race.

6th District race is among the nation’s most expensive

One of the most competitive and bitter Democratic primary battles is for the 6th District congressional seat held by Rep. April McClain Delaney and contested by former congressman David Trone, who once held the seat.

Trone, who ran for U.S. Senate two years ago but lost, has spent at least $25 million of his own money in the House race.

McClain Delaney has spent more than $7 million.

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Six others are running in the Democratic primary, but have raised little money by comparison.

Trone and McClain Delaney have aired a flurry of negative ads, each accusing the other of not doing enough to counter President Donald Trump and his policies.

McClain Delaney has stressed affordability issues and her fight against cuts to the federal workforce.

Trone has emphasized the need to push back against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and reproductive rights for women, among other issues.

Both candidates actually agree on a lot of issues, though their TV ads seek to stress their differences.

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On the Republican ballots, longtime candidate and former state Del. Robin Ficker is among several people seeking the GOP nomination.

The 6th District stretches from parts of Montgomery County to Frederick County and Allegany and Garrett counties.

Crowded field battles to succeed Rep. Hoyer

The retirement of longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer, who has represented Maryland’s 5th District since 1981, has opened the floodgates to two dozen Democratic candidates.

The candidates include: former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, healthcare business executive Quincy Bareebe, Prince George’s County state Del. Adrian Boafo, Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn.

Money has also been an issue in the 5th District primary, though in a different way than in the 6th.
Boafo, who has Hoyer’s endorsement, has received millions of dollars in support from outside groups.

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Some of his opponents have complained about the surge in money supporting Boafo in recent weeks.

In addition to Hoyer, Boafo has been endorsed by Moore and U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen has not endorsed any candidate in the race, but has warned about the danger of outside money from special interest groups.

WTOP’s Tracy Johnke contributed to this report.

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Montgomery County Voter Guide: Primary Election Candidates, Polling Places

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Montgomery County Voter Guide: Primary Election Candidates, Polling Places


The job involves handling the daily administration of county departments and submitting proposals for the county budget. The current officeholder is Marc Elrich (Democrat), who is running to serve as an at-large member of the County Council.

The leading contenders vying for the four-year term include Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (Democrat), Evan Glass (Democrat) and Will Jawando (Democrat), all of whom hold seats on the County Council.

The four other candidates rounding out the competition include Mithun Banerjee (Democrat), Peter James (Democrat), Shelly Skolnick (Republican) and Esther Wells (Republican).

County Council At-Large Candidates

Another key race to keep an eye on this election cycle is the County Council at-large position, which is responsible for voting on the operating budget, introducing and passing legislation and providing oversight on multiple departments.

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A total of 18 candidates are running for the four-year candidacy, although only four contenders will ultimately be selected by voters.





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