Rushern Baker (D), candidate for Maryland Governor, has announced that Montgomery County Council’s Nancy Navarro (D) will be his running mate for the upcoming election.

Baker was a two-term Prince George’s County Executive and represented legislative district 22B in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2003. He ran for Governor in 2018, but lost the Democratic primary to Ben Jealous 40%-29%.

Councilmember Nancy Navarro is a Venezuelan American legislator, the first Latina to serve on the Montgomery County Council. Navarro is finishing her third term on the Montgomery County council and is unable to run for re-election due to the county’s term limit law.

As a member of the Montgomery County Council, helped passed a $15 minimum wage, increased pay equity and earned sick leave, and cracked down on wage violations.

She also authored the Early Care and Education Initiative to expand the availability of quality and affordable childcare.

Prior to her service on the County Council, Navarro served on the Montgomery County Board of Education for five years. Before entering public office, Nancy co-founded a non-profit, community-based organization to assist with the economic and educational development of Latino and other immigrant communities. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, and she lives in Silver Spring with her husband of 30 years. They have two amazing Afro-Latina daughters Anais and Isabel who are graduates of MCPS and Howard University.

• Rushern Baker, former Prince George’s Countyexecutive and candidate for governor in 2018
• Jon Baron, former nonprofit executive, expert in evidence-based policy, and former federal official
• Peter Franchot, Comptroller of Maryland
• Doug Gansler, former Attorney General of Maryland and candidate for governor in 2014
• Ashwani K. Jain, former Obama administration official
• John King Jr., former United States Secretary of Education
• Wes Moore, author and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation
• Tom Perez, former Democratic National Committee Chairman, former United States Secretary of Labor and former Maryland secretary of labor
• Mike Rosenbaum, founder of Catalyte

Republican Candidates for the 2022 race:

• Daniel L. Cox, state delegate
• Robin Ficker, former state delegate, attorney, sports heckler, and perennial candidate
• Kelly M. Schulz, Maryland Secretary of Commerce, former Maryland Secretary of Labor, and former member of the Maryland House of Delegates
  

2022 Maryland Gubernatorial Candidates’ Social Media Presence

Maryland State Delegate Kirill Reznick, of the 39th district, recently compiled and shared a list of all Maryland Gubernatorial candidates and their social media presence.

”Not an endorsement of anyone, and not particularly indicative of their ability to get elected, but have a strong social media presence is important for a candidate in this day and age.” Kirill wrote on Twitter.

So far, a total of 11 candidates have announced bids (9 Democratic candidates and 2 Republican candidates).

Former DNC Chairman Tom Perez leads the way with over 250k social media follows overall. He also has the most on Twitter (238,400).

Wes Moore, a best-selling author and former CEO of an anti-poverty organization who announced his bid yesterday, has the most on Facebook (32,000) and Instagram (27,700).

Doug Gansler, Former Attorney General of Maryland and State’s Attorney for Montgomery County, Launches Campaign for Governor

Former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler launched his campaign for Governor of Maryland this morning.

Gansler previously served as the State’s Attorney for Montgomery County from 1999 to 2007. He won the nomination in the state Democratic primary election for Attorney General and defeated Republican Scott Rolle in the 2006 general election, taking 61% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2010, when he ran unopposed.

In 2014, Gansler launched an unsuccessful gubernatorial bid– losing the Democratic Primary to Anthony Brown who later lost to current Governor, Larry Hogan.

Gansler grew up in Chevy Chase where he attended Chevy Chase Elementary School before moving on to Sidwell Friends in DC for middle and high school. Gansler went to Yale University and later earned his law degree from the University of Virginia.

During his time as Montgomery County state’s attorney (1999-2007), he was involved in several high-profile cases that garnered national attention. Early on, he prosecuted former boxing champion Mike Tyson’s road-rage attack in Gaithersburg that occurred in 1998. In 2002, he prosecuted the Beltway snipers, John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo.

Gansler joins five other Democrats who have launched campaigns for Governor:

• Ashwani Jain, former Montgomery County Council candidate

• Peter Franchot, current Comptroller of MD

• John B. King, former U.S. Education Secretary

• Mike Rosenbaum, Baltimore tech entrepreneur

Per Doug Gansler’s website:

”I’m running for Governor because Maryland is facing tremendous challenges right now, and we don’t have a moment to waste.

I’ve spent my career serving Marylanders with fresh ideas and bold action. My record on the big issues that affect our lives: preserving the environment, safeguarding equal rights for all, and delivering justice for Maryland families, shows I’ve got the experience to get the job done.

These are challenging times, make no mistake.

But we have an incredible opportunity to shape a better, more just future for our state.

That work is going to take an experienced leader who can hit the ground running and guide our state’s recovery in a way that improves the lives of every Marylander.

I’ve always tackled the biggest problems facing our state, no matter how powerful the opposition. And I’m ready to fight to take bold action to build the Maryland we all deserve.”