Maryland has a chance to become the first state to elect a Black governor, attorney general and U.S. senator concurrently, transforming the state into the nation’s center of Black political power in just two election cycles.
Two years ago, state voters broke barriers, making Gov. Wes Moore and Attorney General Anthony Brown the first Black candidates to be independently elected to statewide offices (three Black men had previously been elected lieutenant governor as part of a ticket). And Maryland has the country’s highest percentage of state lawmakers who are Black; they chose Adrienne A. Jones, a Black woman, as speaker of the House of Delegates.
If Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, is successful in her race against Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, she would become the first Black woman the state elected to the U.S. Senate.
Having three sitting Black politicians at the same time in the state’s top elected offices would make Maryland a blueprint worthy of studying by political strategists, said Michael K. Fauntroy, an associate professor of policy and government and director of the Race, Politics, and Policy Center in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Massachusetts voters have elected a Black governor, attorney general and U.S. Senator at different points in the state’s history.
Maryland is “one of the new hotbeds for Black electoral politics at the statewide level,” Fauntroy said, adding: “There is still no statewide leader in Georgia. North Carolina has come close, but it still has not happened. It is becoming to be a thing in Maryland.”
Political insiders attribute the growing success of Maryland’s Black elected officials to a variety of factors: the state’s diverse population; the region’s historically Black colleges and universities helping to grow a class of Black voting professionals; a strong network of Black fraternities, sororities and social groups; a migration of Black voters from Washington, D.C., to Maryland; and a growing willingness among white voters to support Black candidates.
Del. Stephanie Smith, who represents East and Northeast Baltimore and is chair of the Baltimore delegation that went to the Democratic National Convention, knows firsthand how these factors have helped her political career.
Smith quickly points out that the 2020 Census established Maryland as the fourth most racially diverse state in the nation and the most diverse on the East Coast.
“Nearly 1 out of every 3 Marylanders are Black, as are half the Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly,” she said. “This terrain gives more Black candidates an opportunity outside of long-standing Black political strongholds like Baltimore City or Prince George’s County. Democracy is healthiest when everyone can see leaders who reflect their lived experiences and values.”
Fauntroy thinks this momentum has been building since the early ’80s, when Black residents from Washington, D.C., started populating the Maryland suburbs of Prince George’s County, eventually spreading to Charles County, now the nation’s wealthiest majority-Black county.
High-achieving Black people in this region expect to see elected Black officials, Fauntroy said.
“When they began to move in new developments in Mitchellville and Upper Marlboro, they were already accustomed to voting for Black people in the highest positions in the state. That explains the situation we’re in right now,” he said.
In the Baltimore area a concentration of Black professionals fueled by the large presence by HBCUs — there are four in the state — with others such as neighboring Howard University, Delaware State University, Lincoln University and other schools in Pennsylvania and Virginia, have helped build an electorate that is civic-minded, politically savvy and able to help fund candidates.
Social networks built from relationships in Black fraternities and sororities, known as the Divine Nine, and professional social groups such as The Links, Incorporated, Jack and Jill of America Inc., Prince Hall Freemasonry, and The Boulé, have also helped establish an infrastructure of support for Black candidates.
Divine Nine organizations, which, unlike white fraternities and sororities, remain a constant presence in the lives of members beyond graduation and throughout adulthood, are able to provide a unique support system for Black candidates, Fauntroy said.
“They have been able to rally members to elected positions,” he said pointing out Moore’s membership in the nation’s first founded Black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., which is nationally headquartered in Baltimore.
Smith is a double HBCU alum with degrees from Hampton University and Howard University Law School, and her husband is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc.
“Our collective social and alumni networks have been significant sources of support in my own campaigns,” she explained.
State Sen. Jill P. Carter attributes the barrier breaking to the progress the state has made in its commitment to diversity, equity and justice.
“This is the result of generations of blood, sweat and tears, and a dedicated effort to dismantle barriers to Black representation in state government,” said Carter, who is the daughter of the late civil rights activist Walter P. Carter.
Having Black leadership at the highest levels of state government has helped to shape and pass laws around the legalization of cannabis — requiring investment into communities negatively impacted by prohibition — as well as the banning of searches based on cannabis odor and automatic expungement of certain convictions, Carter said.
Del. Aletheia McCaskill, who represents portions of western Baltimore County, calls Maryland a “window of hope” and a “telescope” to view what can be accomplished elsewhere.
“It can happen anywhere in the United States in the not-so-distant future. But we must remember, it’s not always about electing the first, it’s about who is more suitable for the position,” she said.
Calling them the “progeny of the Civil Rights Movement,” Fauntroy thinks that many of the Black politicians who have achieved top success in this state are “hyper-educated,” “uniquely well-polished and positioned” candidates.
Moore is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, a Rhodes Scholar, and military veteran. Brown is a Harvard-educated lawyer.
These are traits that “disarm skeptical white voters,” Fauntroy said.
“They are seen as people who can transcend race,” Fauntroy said, likening them to Barack Obama. “There was a time when there was a ceiling at the mayoral level and maybe Congress.”
Many white voters are now accustomed to viewing Black politicians as viable candidates and thus are less hesitant to vote for them compared to several decades ago, Fauntroy said.
“For more than a generation now there have been Black candidates running. It is less of a shock to white voters. It’s no longer that big of a deal to see Black candidates,” he said.
Brown responded in an email it was “long overdue that Maryland’s senior leadership truly reflects the diversity of the state.”
He added: “I am encouraged that Marylanders have finally elected women to its Congressional delegation and African Americans to the highest positions in state government.”
He declined to say why he thinks Maryland has changed and is unique.
Moore wrote in an email he was “honored” to stand beside Brown and Jones “as we work together to make Maryland safer, more affordable, competitive, and the state that serves — the entire state is thankful every day for their leadership.”
He also touted the diversity surrounding him.
“In the Governor’s Office I’ve said since day one that we need a team that looks like the State of Maryland, and I’m proud to say that today we have the most diverse cabinet in Maryland history working to make this a better home for everyone,” he added.
Jones did not respond to a request for comment.
Nykidra “Nyki” Robinson, founder of Black Girls Vote, a national nonpartisan organization, is excited about the progress, but mindful that these officials are “intentional about the policies that affect Black people.”
She added she is also looking forward to more young voters “seeing themselves” within these elected officials.
“Times are shifting, and times are changing and hopefully people see the power of our vote and the power of representation and most importantly the power of policy,” Robinson said.
Gov. Wes Moore and County Executive Angela Alsobrooks will be featured speakers at The Banner’s second annual iMPACT Maryland conference. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Correction: This article has been updated to correct that Maryland has had three Black lieutenant governors.