Election Update: Mid 2021
Welcome to our mid-2021 election update. Moving forward, we’ll be switching to weekly updates, as the pace of election season begins to pick up. The first weekly update will be released on December 4.
Leading Off
State Senate-32: What is Sarah Lacey doing?
With the recent leftward shift of Anne Arundel County, Democrats are eagerly awaiting strong candidates to step up and win some of the traditionally Republican seats in the House and Senate. What they may not have expected was for one of the strongest Democratic incumbents on the county council to launch a challenge to a popular incumbent Democratic state senator, but that’s exactly what happened this week when Sarah Lacey filed for State Senate in District 32, which is currently represented by first-term Senator Pam Beidle.
And Beidle has no plans to retire, saying in a Facebook post that she plans to file for re-election in August as part of a slate, assumedly with Delegates Sandy Bartlett, Mark Chang, and Mike Rogers. Beidle served two terms on the County Council from 1998-06 followed by three terms in the House of Delegates until her election to State Senate in 2018.
So why is Lacey, who has been a respected and uncontroversial member (and as of this writing, the Chairperson) of the County Council deciding to challenge an incumbent Senator from her own party?
Well, according to an article in the Capital Gazette, Lacey seems to feel that she can accomplish some things at the state level that she hasn’t been able to do at the county level, such as redrawing school districts.
Or, she may be playing 4D chess. Legislative district lines will be redrawn between now and November 2022, and Census estimates indicate that the western areas of the county (including Lacey’s hometown of Jessup) have enjoyed high rates of growth. There is an outside possibility that redistricting will place Lacey and Beidle in separate districts. Or, Lacey may be trying to increase her public profile for a run for higher office in the future.
So with Lacey not running for re-election to the County Council, who will be running to represent District 1? That’s one question we didn’t have to wait long to find out as community activist, Marine veteran, and former councilman Pete Smith announced his intention to run for his old seat. He was initially appointed to the County Council in 2012 and served for eighteen months before winning the seat in his own right in 2014. He fell short in his bid for a second full term in 2018, losing to Lacey by a surprising 57-43% spread.
In AA County
State Senate-33: Dawn Gile, a nonprofit leader and attorney, has filed for State Senate in this district based in Crofton and on the Broadneck Peninsula. While this upper-middle class suburban area has long been a Republican stronghold, the last two election cycles have made many observers wonder if this has become a purple district. In 2018 Democrat Heather Bagnall won one of the three House of Delegates seats from this district, and in 2020 Joe Biden won this district 55-42%. While nobody expects Democrats to consistently hit 55% in this district, it’s definitely going to be hotly contested moving forward. Redistricting could still shift this district in one direction or the other.
Delegate-30A: Firefighter Doug Rathell is running for the House of Delegates in the two-member District 30A in the Annapolis area as a Republican. Rathell ran for this seat in 2018 and came in fourth place in the Republican primary with 17.6% of the vote.
Delegate-33: The current delegation is made up of two Republicans (Sid Saab and Rachel Muñoz) and one Democrat (Heather Bagnall). As both parties believe they can sweep this district, several candidates have filed for this increasingly competitive district (see above):
- Rachel Muñoz (R-inc)
- Tom Angelis (R)
- Tyler Bailey (R)
- David Bishop (R)
- Stacie MacDonald (R)
- Heather Bagnall (D-inc)
- Kevin Burke (D)
Around the State
Governor (R) – As expected, pro-Trump Delegate Dan Cox (R-4) has filed to run for Governor, and his running mate will be attorney Gordana Schifanelli from Queen Anne’s County. He’ll face Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz and perennial candidate Robin Ficker in the Republican primary.
State Senate-1: Senator George Edwards (R) has announced that he will not seek re-election in this dark-red western Maryland district. This has resulted in a domino effect as several Republicans have shown interest in succeeding him. Delegates Wendell Beitzel (R-1A) and Mike McKay (R-1C) have expressed interest in running, and so has Allegany County Commissioner Jake Shade (R). This is setting up to be one of the most contested Republican primaries in the state.