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Maryland Democratic Party

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Maryland Democratic Party
AbbreviationMDDEM
ChairmanKenneth Ulman
GovernorWes Moore
Lieutenant GovernorAruna Miller
President of the SenateBill Ferguson
Senate Majority LeaderNancy J. King
House Majority LeaderDavid Moon
FoundedMay 21, 1827; 197 years ago (1827-05-21)
HeadquartersAnnapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Membership (2021)Increase 2,284,097[1]
IdeologyModern liberalism
National affiliationDemocratic Party
Senate
34 / 47
House of Delegates
102 / 141
U.S. Senate
(Maryland seats)
2 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives
(Maryland seats)
7 / 8
Statewide Officers
4 / 4
County Executives
6 / 9
Baltimore City Council
15 / 15
Montgomery County Council
11 / 11
Election symbol
Website
mddems.org
Party leaders Elijah Cummings, Martin O'Malley and Michael Cryor minutes before announcing Maryland's votes at the 2008 Democratic National Convention

The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis.[2] The current acting state party chair is Kenneth Ulman.[3] It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all but one of Maryland's eight U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, all statewide executive offices and supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.

History

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The Maryland Democratic Party is among the oldest continuously existing political organizations in the world. On May 21, 1827, a meeting of Andrew Jackson supporters organized a political structure in the state designed to help Jackson win the Presidency after he was denied victory in the 1824 United States presidential election despite winning the popular vote. The first meeting of the Democratic (Jackson) Central Committee was held at the Atheneum in Baltimore, located on the southwest corner of St. Paul and Lexington streets.

Twelve delegates from each county and six delegates from Baltimore were invited to attend. The label "Central Committee" was adopted along with a "Committee of Correspondence" which functioned like the present Executive Committee. Thomas M. Forman, Cecil County, was chosen to preside with William M. Beall, Frederick County, appointed Secretary and John S. Brooke, Prince George's County, appointed as Assistant Secretary. In addition to its founding, the Maryland Democratic Party hosted the first six Democratic National Conventions from 1832 to 1852 held in Baltimore. On May 31, 1838, Maryland Democrats gathered in a state party convention to nominate William Grason for Governor. He became the first popularly elected Governor in Maryland with the help of central committees throughout the state.[citation needed]

After the ratification of the Suffrage Amendment in 1920, the Democratic State Central Committee added an equal number of women to its membership, a practice still embodied in National Party Rules and in the elections for Cecil County Democratic State Central Committee.[4]

The first six Democratic National Conventions were held in Baltimore, for a total of nine to date.

Historically the Democratic Party has been the dominant party in Maryland politics. Since the 1838 Maryland gubernatorial election, the first gubernatorial election in Maryland in which the governor was elected by direct popular vote, 28 Maryland Governors have been Democrats.[5] Since the 1895 Maryland Comptroller election, the first Comptroller election in Maryland in which the Comptroller was elected by direct popular vote, 17 Maryland Comptrollers have been Democrats.[6] Since the 1895 Maryland Attorney General election, the first Attorney General election in Maryland in which the Attorney General was elected by direct popular vote, 23 Attorneys General have been Democrats.[7] The party has held continuous control of the Maryland General Assembly since 1920, the longest currently running streak of control by a single party of a state legislature in the United States.

Elected officials

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Members of Congress

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Democrats comprise nine of Maryland's ten-member Congressional delegation:[8]

U.S. Senate

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Since 1987, Democrats have controlled both of Maryland's seats in the U.S. Senate:

U.S. House of Representatives

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Democrats hold seven of the eight seats Maryland is apportioned in the U.S. House following the 2000 census:

District Member Photo
2nd Dutch Ruppersberger
3rd John Sarbanes
4th Glenn Ivey
5th Steny Hoyer
6th David Trone
7th Kweisi Mfume
8th Jamie Raskin

Statewide officeholders

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Beginning in January 2023, Democrats control all four statewide offices:

County government

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Until 2010, the Democratic Party of Maryland held majority power at the County level. As of 2018 the Democrats only hold control in ten out of 23 Maryland's county governments in addition to Baltimore.

Legislative leadership

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Mayors

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Electoral performance

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Presidential

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Maryland Democratic Party presidential election results
Election Presidential ticket Votes Vote % Electoral votes Result
1960 John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson 565,808 53.61%
9 / 9
 Won
1964 Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey 730,912 65.47%
10 / 10
 Won
1968 Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie 538,310 43.59%
10 / 10
 Lost
1972 George McGovern/Sargent Shriver 505,781 37.36%
0 / 10
 Lost
1976 Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale 759,612 53.04%
10 / 10
 Won
1980 Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale 726,161 47.12%
10 / 10
 Lost
1984 Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro 787,935 47.02%
0 / 10
 Lost
1988 Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen 826,304 48.20%
0 / 10
 Lost
1992 Bill Clinton/Al Gore 988,571 49.80%
10 / 10
 Won
1996 Bill Clinton/Al Gore 966,207 54.25%
10 / 10
 Won
2000 Al Gore/Joe Lieberman 1,145,782 56.57%
10 / 10
 Lost
2004 John Kerry/John Edwards 1,334,493 55.91%
10 / 10
 Lost
2008 Barack Obama/Joe Biden 1,629,467 61.92%
10 / 10
 Won
2012 Barack Obama/Joe Biden 1,677,844 61.97%
10 / 10
 Won
2016 Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 1,677,928 60.33%
10 / 10
 Lost
2020 Joe Biden/Kamala Harris 1,985,023 65.36%
10 / 10
 Won

Party organization

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Party chairs (1988–present)

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Party officers

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  • Party Chair: Kenneth Ulman
  • First Vice Chair: Charlene Dukes
  • Second Vice Chair: Judy Wixted
  • Third Vice Chair: Ruben Amaya
  • Treasurer: Devang Shah
  • Secretary: Corynne Courpas
  • Deputy Treasurer: Diana Emerson
  • Deputy Secretary: Gabe Gough
  • Parliamentarian: Greg Pecorara
  • DNC Member: Bel Leong-Hong
  • DNC Member: Robbie Leonard
  • DNC Member: Bob Kresslein
  • DNC Member: Cheryl S. Landis

[14]

Party staff

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  • Executive Director: Karen Darkes[15]
  • Deputy Executive Director: Joe Francaviglia[16]
  • Fundraising Director: Aaron Jarboe
  • Senior Advisor: Meredith Bowman

Affiliated groups

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  • United Democratic Women's Clubs of Maryland
  • Young Democrats of Maryland
  • Democratic Women's PAC of Maryland
  • United Democrats of Frederick County
  • Green Dems
  • Democratic Party (United States)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Winger, Richard. "March 2021 Ballot Access News Print Edition". Ballot Access News. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Contact". Maryland Democratic Party. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Kurtz, Josh (November 18, 2023). "Ulman overwhelmingly wins election to be new Democratic state chair". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  4. ^ Willis, John T. "A Brief History of the Maryland Democratic Party". Maryland Democratic Party. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015.
  5. ^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  6. ^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  7. ^ "Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  8. ^ "Directory of Representatives | House.gov". United States House of Representatives.
  9. ^ Kurtz, Josh; Sears, Bryan P. (September 27, 2023). "Personnel news: State Dem chair stepping down, Patrick Hogan leaving state service to join Patrick Hogan at lobbying firm". Maryland Matters. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Wood, Pamela (December 7, 2019). "Maryland Democrats turn to prior leader, Yvette Lewis, to guide party through to 2022 elections". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Wiggins, Ovetta (December 1, 2018). "Maryland Democrats elect Maya Rockeymoore Cummings as state party chair". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Turque, Bill (May 6, 2017). "Kathleen Matthews elected Maryland Democratic Party chair". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  13. ^ "Chairs". Maryland Democratic Party. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015.
  14. ^ Kurtz, Josh (December 19, 2022). "Political notes: Long list of applicants for Luedtke's seat, plus Md. Dems' new leadership team and a new lobbying hire". Maryland Matters. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  15. ^ Sears, Bryan P.; Kurtz, Josh (March 21, 2024). "Political notes: House of Delegates awards 3, state Dems get new leaders, powerful ex-senator dies". Maryland Matters. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Party Staff".
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