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Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
It's all over but the judging: After a hard-fought session, the judges score the rounds
There are certain traditions with Sine Die: Balloons and confetti litter the chambers, as they did here in 2024, and Maryland Matters assesses the winners and losers from the 90-day session. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Boy are we glad that's over. The 2025 legislative session was a slog. Perhaps the most important, fatiguing and demoralizing 90 days in a generation. But there was one last thing to do: The Maryland Matters staff fanned out to talk to lawmakers, advocates, lobbyists and others who say they know what's going on about who won, who lost and who more or less broke even. In many cases, the answer to our question was another question: Did anyone really win this year? Matt Losak, executive director for the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, said he found it hard to pick winners, given the tight budget and unanticipated moves from the Trump administration. 'It's less like a session of winners, and more like a session of survivors,' he said earlier this week. Even so, we managed to produce the list for 2025. We understand that these lists can be viewed in the same way as a list of 'top 100 rock songs.' Some will say it's just perception. But this is politics, where perception is every bit as important and real as reality. Sen. Guy Guzzone and Dels. Ben Barnes and Vanessa Atterbeary: The fiscal commitee chairs in the House and Senate have thrown some sharp elbows in recent years. But faced with the toughest budget challenge in years, they regularly worked together to craft a budget compromise without the public drama. And education advocates credit Barnes and Atterbeary for protecting funding for English-language learners, low-income and special education students, speaking out early against cuts and meeting with advocates, parents and students. Senate President Bill Ferguson: The guiding hand on the budget crisis and energy reform, described by some as an almost governor-like figure who maintained discipline in the Senate. Developmental disabilities advocates: They quickly mobilized, lobbied and brought hundreds to Annapolis to rally against some $457 million in cuts to the agency that oversees their services. Their efforts paid off, and helped claw back $292.48 million of those cuts. Advocates say the remaining $164 million cut will be painful but survivable. That they still were dealt cuts could argue for them to be bumped down to a 'push,' but most who watched the effort put the DDA community squarely in the 'win' column, Transportation advocates: They got a projected $500 million annual infusion to the beleaguered Transportation Trust Fund. Larry Hogan: Maybe he's going to run for a third term. Maybe not. Who knows? But the Republican former governor got some help from a stilted economy, slash-and-burn budgeting in D.C., and a new cadre of tax and fee increases. So much so that Hogan might be thinking this looks a lot like 2014. And it hasn't gone unnoticed by Democrats. This 'shadowy' anti-Moore website and social media campaign has managed to move in on the second floor of the State House and live rent-free in the heads of some of the governor's staff, despite having less reach than Hogan's former 'Change Maryland' effort. Running battles on social media and proxy investigation requests gave oxygen to a political effort many had yet to notice. Dels. C.T. Wilson and Brian Crosby: The duo passionately defended the energy package on the House floor, and they got several of their bills woven into the package, including regulations on solar siting, a separate electricity rate for data centers and a new long-term energy planning office. Several of those we talked to also gave a tip of the cap to Del. Lorig Charkoudian — the Montgomery Democrat has been steeped in energy policy for years, and played a prominent role this year, getting several provisions of her affordable clean energy bill into the leadership package. Legislative Black Caucus: The 66-member caucus didn't get everything it wanted, but it did rack up the major pieces: The Second Look Act that provides some incarcerated individuals a second chance at life; expansion of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board; reforms to the medical and geriatric parole process; and the creation of a Reparations Commission, making Maryland one of the few states to have one. The caucus also successfully pushed back against the governor's plan to freeze funding for community schools as part of the reforms to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. Sen. Charles Sydnor and Del. Cheryl Pasteur: The two Baltimore County Democrats offered emotional — and unexpected — testimony in suppor of the Second Look Act. They didn't get all that they wanted in the legislation, but they received praise from colleagues and advocates for having the courage to 'stand up for what's right.' The Maryland Licensed Beverage Association and the alcohol industry and lobby: An effort to expand beer and wine sales to grocery stores and other retailers ran into the buzz saw that is the 'three-tier system' of wholesalers, distributors and retailers in Maryland. The governor's support was a nonfactor. The issue is assured to come back, which means continued fundraising opportunities for some. A boy and his mineral: Who doesn't love a good underdog story? David Shore started as a 9-year-old Montgomery County boy with a dream of making chromite the official state mineral. He parlayed that into a sponsor in the House and Senate, and a pro-bono (and well known) Annapolis lobbyist. Eight short years later, we can raise a glass to Shore and to chromite (both of whom will be featured in a PBS documentary about the State House next year). May we suggest an Orange Crush, which was going to die as the official state cocktail until it was added to the chromite bill and passed with seconds to spare on Sine Die. House and Senate Republicans: They are still heavily outnumbered, but the minority party in both chambers was praised — by non-Republicans — for its ability to get its message out, with House Republicans getting special mention for their use of social media. The GOP also got some Democrats to vote with them on some key budget and other votes. Most notably, five Senate Democrats — Dawn Gile, Shaneka Henson, Katie Fry Hester, Carl Jackson and Mary-Dulany James — sided with Senate Republicans on a budget measure. Sen. Jack Bailey of Southern Maryland got an amendment approved that's now included in the Second Look Act, one of the major criminal justice reform bills presented this year. Although Bailey voted against the entire measure, his amendment still made it through. Maryland residents: A consistent theme in our reporting on this was the comment (or some variation): 'Did anyone really win?' The same angst lawmakers have about federal actions weighs on the average resident and small-business owner. Worried about the economy, keeping a job, a recession? Yup, that too. Electricity costs are up and will go up again this summer. Taxpayers lucky enough to get a cut will likely not swoon over the average $60 tax refund. Same for the credit on utility bills, which is advertised as roughly $80 (broken in two payouts). Some will see more, but some will see less, as actual credits will be based on average usage. Buying a new car got more expensive, so did titling it and putting tires on it. The data and IT tax will hit everyone, not just businesses, and there's a tax on vending machine sales. Sports gaming and cannabis taxes also went up. Wes Moore: For the first two years, Moore capitalized on the goodwill from his historic election and a return to Democratic control of state government for the first time in eight years. He's smart, telegenic and a charismatic speaker. The shine, however, may be wearing thin. That includes a couple of sagging (but still above 50%) job performance polls and a middling record on 2025 legislative priorities, with some bills watered down and others stripped for parts. His tax modernization proposal was recast. The governor demanded that a bill to sell beer and wine in grocery stores and other retailers land on his desk by the end of session; lawmakers deep-sixed those bills into committee drawers. Moore's dismount was to send an email six minutes after the close of the session in which he cited the wins, but chided the legislature for missing opportunities to make the state more business-friendly and to add nuclear to the clean energy effort. He also issued a veiled threat to not sign (veto?) bills that did not rise to his three legislative benchmarks. A number of lawmakers — Democrats — were not happy with the email. Moore is still considered a top-tier potential presidential candidate with a donor call list and connections rivaled by few. That race is in 2028. Moore faces a re-election contest for a 2026 campaign that will begin in earnest this year. And it remains to be seen how the public will react to what was done this session. Renter protections: Renter protections ran up against the state's desire to create a more developer-friendly market to address the state's housing shortage. Efforts to pass renter protections known as 'good cause' evictions fell short once again, after housing developers claimed the measure would drive new projects out of the state. Renter advocates disagree, but Senate President Bill Ferguson worries passing good cause eviction bills would affect future housing projects — making the road to passage more challenging. Other renter protection bills that did pass were watered down as well. House decorum: Lawmakers are no longer called on by their districts when they rise to speak. The tone and tenor of debates is more bitter and rancorous than in recent memory (see 'Freedom Caucus' in Push section below). It does not bode well for 2026 and the coming election. Parole process reform: Dels. Elizabeth Embry and N. Scott Phillips sought to reform the parole process in a state that ranks among the worst in the nation when it comes to the Black prison population. The House agreed, passing two of their parole reform parole bills. Both bill received hearings before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, they never made it to the full Senate. Child Victims Act: It took a decade to pass landmark legislation that opened the courthouse doors for people who were abused as children in public and private institutions but time-barred from seeking civil remedies. Approval of the act forced the Archdiocese of Baltimore to seek bankruptcy protections. This year, it was the state's turn to feel the heat as thousands of cases began to surface, a potential liability under the act of billions, if not tens of billions, of dollars — a potential budge-breaker. So lawmakers changed the law to impose lower caps on lawsuits filed after May 31, 2025. Many Democrats in committee lamented the choice they had to make. Some cried. Others stormed out. But the bill passed and heads to the governor's desk for his signature. And the political policy arm of the Catholic Church? They publicly chided the state for being 'the largest employer of child sex abusers in the state.' A purgatory for those who had some wins and some losses but not enough of either to put them in either of the above categories. Local governments: The legislature pushed costs of teacher pensions and property tax assessments down onto the counties to solve its own budget issues. Then they got a helping hand in the form of the ability to increase the piggyback income tax from 3.2% to 3.3%. Only about one-third of the state's 24 major political subdivisions are maxed out on the current cap. In the current climate, such increases could be a political mixed bag. The business community: The Democratic supermajority touts its support for small businesses while vilifying owners as bad actors and foisting fees and regulations and taxes on them, even as lawmakers and Moore look for ways to end the state's company town dependence on the federal government. Business leaders and advocates did manage to beat a very large business-to-business sales tax proposal into a much smaller one. That effort landed on a services sales tax on IT and data that will cost everyone, not just business owners. Del. Nino Mangione: The Baltimore County Republican somehow managed to fly under the radar enough to avoid having to answer any questions about his cousin Luigi, who faces a potential death penalty from federal prosecutors related to the killing of a United Healthcare executive. Environmentalists: For environmental advocates, this year was mostly about mitigating the bad. They fought to water down incentives for new gas power plants, and found some success, but the bill could still expedite gas generation. This year also saw rollbacks of the building energy program and electric vehicle sales targets (via an 11th-hour executive order). But advocates notched some wins in the larger energy legislation: Nixing a clean-energy subsidy for trash incinerators and reforming gas pipeline spending by utilities had both been on their wishlists for years. They walk away with bruised knuckles, and a new feeling that the ground beneath them is shaky. But they have victories to point to — and it could have been much worse. Immigrant protections: President Donald Trump repeated his determination to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants, stoking fear in Maryland's migrant communities and presenting advocates with a big challenge. They had limited success. Advocates with CASA felt their safety and protection were not prioritized, as lawmakers rushed through a handful of watered-down protections in some public spaces and for data protection in the final minutes of session. But they rejected the measure advocates said would have given undocumented residents the greatest protection from increased immigration enforcement: A ban on 287(g) agreements, in which local police can essentially act as federal immigration agents. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The House Freedom Caucus. These are not the Republicans others cite for erffective messaging (see Winners section above). The seven-member splinter group of House Republicans some some notice from the press for their disruptive rhetoric, and they got an infusion of institutional firepower from Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) — chair of the congressional Freedom Caucus — and Republican former Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. But their act made no friends with Democrats in the supermajority. Looming in the interim is the prospect of committee reassignments in order to spread members out among the six standing committees in the House where three members are on Health and Government Operation and two others serve on Judiciary. It remains to be seen if the group can expand its ranks in the House, or knock off some GOP senators whom they have described as RINOs (though they have not named names). Also unknown is whether the group can add more to legislative debates than strenuous objections to things the larger Republican Caucus is already pushing back on. Beer and wine sales expansion. Yeah, we know we said above that the Maryland Licensed Beverage Association was a winner, but we still think the concept of expanded sales was a push this year. (We haven't been drinking, we promise.) It's popular and has the support of a governor who demanded it land on his desk, even though his promise to do more than 'whip votes' did not materialize. A line in the sand angered legislative leaders rather than build a coalition. Some of the most important lawmakers did not know the governor's thoughts until they heard it from a reporter. That said, even though you cannot buy beer and wine in a grocery (or convenience) store, chances are there are lots of options nearby if not in the same shopping centers or even delivery.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats want ‘shadowy' anti-Moore group investigated
Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a file photo from January. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) The Maryland Democratic Party is calling on state elections officials to open an investigation into an online effort targeting Gov. Wes Moore. has used its website and social media presence on Facebook and X to needle the governor over the state budget, taxes and other issues. The Democratic Party, in a 14-page complaint to the Maryland State Board of Elections, questioned whether the effort violates state election laws. 'Specifically, No Moore — a shadowy effort disguising itself as 'issue advocacy' with the clear intent to oppose Governor Moore's re-election — disseminated campaign material with an incomplete authority line and likely did so without registering with the State Board of Elections,' Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Karen Darkes, wrote in the complaint. The identities of the organizers remain unknown and the subject of much speculation around the State House. An email sent Friday to an address listed on the organization's social media accounts elicited an unsigned email response a short time later. 'We are fully compliant with Maryland law and will register with the appropriate agency when we reach the required thresholds,' said the five-paragraph reply, the rest of which was the sort of barbed political snark the site generally employs. Allen Norfleet, director of candidacy and campaign finance for the state board of elections, confirmed receipt of the Democrats' complaint on Feb. 26. 'Our office has begun working on the investigation,' Norfleet said in an email. On Friday, Robbie Leonard, a Baltimore County attorney and Democratic National Committee member, posted an article about the elections board complaint. 'Ya better lawyer up,' Leonard wrote. Operators of the account on X responded with a screenshot of the First Amendment. Social media posts connected to the site are published several times a day. One such post on Friday chided Moore for a lack of fiscal responsibility as he seeks to hire 'another photographer for his office' while 'Maryland's budget deficit is soaring. 'Nothing screams 'FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY' like making sure you get his good side,' the post continues. The group describes itself as 'a grassroots uprising to fight back against the failed tax-and-spend policies of the Moore Administration.' The complaint from the Democratic party was first reported by The Baltimore Sun. Darkes, in her complaint on behalf of the party, says the No Moore effort crosses lines including advocating for Moore's defeat at the ballot box. Darkes argues that a number posts include comment threads in which the NoMoore account operators call for the governor to be limited to one term. Others include graphics that include Moore's image inside a circle with a line through it, indicating he should be defeated in 2026. Because of that, Darkes argues that the operators of the website must comply with a number of provisions of state elections law. First, the Democratic Party argues that the advocacy on the site and its social media accounts contains ''magic words'' — specific words calling for an action that then trigger campaign regulations. As such, Darkes said the operators of the website must post an authority line on their website that shows who owns and operates the site and social media accounts. 'Whoever is behind No Moore may claim their activities are 'issue advocacy' not regulated under campaign finance law,' Darkes wrote. 'Howevrer, the section of their slogan 'No Moore' — especially when they state their true intent to keep the governor to one term (to oppose re-election) makes that argument hollow.' A year ago, the Office of the State Prosecutor announced a $2,000 fine against John King for Governor after the Democratic candidate sent campaign emails without authority lines. King's campaign was fined for its use of an 'honestmddems' email account that disseminated materials against Moore in the 2022 primary, but did not contain authority lines. Darkes further argues that the anti-Moore group likely crossed spending thresholds that require it to register with state elections officials and report spending as an independent expenditure group.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland Democrats file elections complaint against ‘shadowy' campaign targeting Gov. Wes Moore
BALTIMORE — Maryland Democrats have asked the State Board of Elections to sanction what they are calling a 'shadowy' and illegal campaign against Gov. Wes Moore ahead of his reelection bid next year. The campaign, which has identified itself only as 'No Moore' since its launch in early February, has targeted the Democratic governor over his handling of the state's $3 billion-and-growing state budget deficit. Daily posts that evoke Moore and sometimes refer to his election prospects are likely a violation of state campaign finance law because the group behind those messages has not registered with the state as a campaign entity, the Maryland Democratic Party argued in a complaint filed Feb. 26. 'Whoever is behind No Moore may claim that their activities are 'issue advocacy' not regulated under campaign finance law,' the complaint reads. 'However, the selection of their slogan 'No Moore' — especially when they state their true intent to keep the governor to one term (to oppose re-election) makes that argument hollow.' The complaint does not identify any individuals, though the party's chairman previously said the website 'raises the question' of whether former Gov. Larry Hogan 'and his allies' are running 'No Moore.' The group's website and social media posts have echoed some of the language in Hogan's own public comments about the budget deficit. Other top Maryland Republicans have similarly targeted Moore since he proposed a budget that would reform the state's tax code and cut state spending by $2 billion, though many of those Republicans have said they are not associated with 'No Moore.' Described only as a 'grassroots uprising' on its website, 'No Moore' is not registered as a political action committee, business or charity. Its website discloses that it is 'paid for by though Democrats argue that 'falls far short of what is required' under a state law mandating disclosures on campaign messages. In addition to the belief that 'no such organization exists' called the disclosure is missing its address and whether its work is authorized by a candidate or ballot issue committee, according to the complaint. Proper disclosures and registration with the state would trigger the group to file independent expenditure reports, requiring it to describe its organizers, spending and donors. Registration should have occurred under the law within 48 hours of when 'No Moore' spent more than $5,000, which the Democratic Party claims it 'very likely' exceeded. The complaint does not call for specific penalties but instead asks for the elections board to investigate and impose civil penalties if violations occurred. If the violations were 'knowing and willful,' the party requested the issue be referred to the state prosecutor. Anonymous targeting of Moore has led to a civil citation from the state prosecutor in the past. In the 2022 Democratic primary, Moore filed a complaint about a dossier sent to members of the state's teachers' union before their endorsement vote. The 'document of lies,' as Moore called it, claimed he encouraged a false perception of his upbringing in Baltimore in his 2010 bestseller, 'The Other Wes Moore.' Two years later, State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III said in April 2024 that it had issued a $2,000 fine to John King's campaign for sending the document and not disclosing its source. It was not immediately clear how long the latest complaint would take to investigate. Karen Dukes, the Democratic Party's executive director, said in a statement, 'Marylanders deserve to know who's behind this shadowy group that's spreading falsehoods about Gov. Moore and his plans to cut taxes for a majority of Marylanders, grow our economy, and invest in our people.' 'It's one thing to lie to Marylanders; it's another to skirt the law and do it behind anonymous social media accounts,' Dukes said. -----------
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mysterious ‘No Moore' campaign launches Maryland's next gubernatorial race as Republicans, Larry Hogan battle Gov. Wes Moore
BALTIMORE — The flood of social media posts began on the morning of Gov. Wes Moore's State of the State address earlier this month. Critiques of the governor's economic plan turned into 'fact checks' of his speech in real time. Puns branding his agenda as 'Moore taxes' and 'Moore spin' became daily photoshopped memes showing him as the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz or grinning from ear to ear as he hands out a valentine labeled 'Moore taxes.' 'In honor of Presidents' Day, here's someone who will never be one — Wes Moore!' the group calling itself 'No Moore' posted. It included an image of the governor smiling behind a podium in the White House with the word 'NOPE!' across his body. Campaign-style targeting of Moore and his latest budget plan has all but launched Maryland into next year's gubernatorial election. The Democratic governor has said he will seek a second term, and polls have shown him to be widely popular as observers also predict he could consider running for president in 2028. But the package of tax cuts and increases he introduced last month to resolve a $3 billion budget deficit has sparked no shortage of potential Republican opponents and other critics looking to challenge him and his policies — from the formation of a new Maryland Freedom Caucus to former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who would be permitted to run again, commenting in response to Moore's rhetoric about 'inheriting' the state's financial problems. 'This is the wrong approach at the wrong time,' Hogan wrote in one of a dozen Facebook posts he's made since early January that have evoked Moore's actions or the budget surplus that existed when he left office in 2023. Hogan, who lost Maryland's U.S. Senate race in November, has not said whether he would run for another term and did not accept a request for an interview this week. No other Republicans have announced campaigns, though that could change in the months after the legislative session ends in early April. The launch of the 'No Moore' campaign, in the meantime, has stood out — raising questions from Maryland political observers and politicians about its goals, who's behind it and whether it should be registered as a political organization. Beyond its nearly 50 posts on Facebook and more than 200 on X in less than three weeks, its website claims Moore 'squandered' the surplus, echoing some of the language in Hogan's own posts while listing some of the taxes, fees and budget cuts Moore proposed this year. The website says it is 'paid for by but does not list other identifying information. ' is a grassroots uprising to fight back against the failed tax-and-spend policies of the Moore Administration and his far-left cronies in the Maryland legislature,' it states. Maryland Republican leaders told The Baltimore Sun this week they are not associated with the organization, though one top-ranking Democrat pointed to the former governor. 'This website raises the question, 'Are Larry Hogan and his allies behind this effort of using shadow campaigns to spread misinformation about the pro-growth policies of the Moore-Miller administration?'' Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman said in a written statement. 'This latest website is just another example of the lengths to which folks will go to distort the truth. Marylanders deserve to know who is funding this dark money effort, especially after they overwhelmingly rejected a dark money fueled campaign just a few months ago.' Spokespeople for Hogan did not provide comment and an email listed on did not respond to multiple inquiries. House Minority Leader Jason Buckel and Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey, meanwhile, said their Republican caucuses or associated political action committees were not behind 'No Moore,' as did Maryland Republican Party spokesman Adam Wood. Maryland Freedom Caucus Chair Matt Morgan said it was not the product of his group. Mileah Kromer, who authored a book on Hogan's rare electoral success as a Maryland Republican, said a natural comparison to what 'No Moore' is showing so far is the Change Maryland organization that launched Hogan's rise. Focused intensely on combatting taxes and fees enacted under Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley, the group helped create an anti-tax public sentiment similar to what 'No Moore' appears aimed at doing now, possibly to 'lay the groundwork' for someone to challenge Moore, Kromer said. 'What made Change Maryland so successful is that it had a really powerful spokesperson in Larry Hogan. He was someone with really great communications skills and he used Change Maryland as a platform,' said Kromer, the director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Institute of Politics. 'It wasn't just Facebook posts or social media posts. He used it as a platform to get on local media, local television. So that's why we have so many broader questions as to what this group is.' Without that spokesperson — or any kind of formal organization — not only is the group's impact uncertain, it's also living in a 'fuzzy' area of campaign finance law, according to experts like Matt Foster, a political science professor at American University. 'On the face of it, it's electioneering. It's an anti-Moore site in the guise of trying to do advocacy on the budget,' Foster said. Despite its disclosure that it's 'paid for by there are no organizations by that or similar names registered as a Maryland political action committee, business or charity, according to the State Board of Elections and other online databases. No tax-exempt organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service or political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission bears its name either. Based on its messaging, it should likely be registered either as a Maryland super PAC, a political organization known in the federal tax code as a '527,' or a 501(c)(4) nonprofit 'social welfare' organization, Foster said. All are tax-exempt under IRS rules but require different levels of disclosure. A '527' is a political organization that must disclose its donors and expenses as it works to influence elections or issues. Social welfare nonprofits, sometimes called 'dark money' groups, don't need to disclose their donors as they engage in politics, which cannot be their primary purpose. Hogan has a history of using both, often at the same time. Change Maryland and An America United, another group he formed toward the end of his time in office as he explored a presidential bid, raised money as Hogan made a pitch for a bipartisan and moderate approach to governing. His messaging often focused on his moves to cut taxes and oppose increases pushed by the Democratic-controlled Maryland General Assembly. He trumpeted that message again last year while running against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks for U.S. Senate — picking a new talking point along the way as he railed against '338 new Maryland taxes and fees' enacted since Moore took his place. Republican state lawmakers developed that list of taxes and fees, though an analysis by The Baltimore Sun found it wasn't as advertised. Just 10% of the fees were new, and just four would directly impact some consumers. Most were associated with professional licensing requirements, and some were decreases that were never enacted or never actually proposed increases. For example, a 'fee for changing your address' that Hogan talked about on the campaign trail was from a proposed regulation about real estate broker business licenses that was eliminated from a final regulation. Still, the 'No Moore' website refers to 338 'consecutive tax hikes to date' under Moore alongside what it claims were 43 tax hikes under O'Malley. It also notes an overall $6.9 billion in 'proposed tax and fee hikes this session' without noting that number refers to new revenue estimated over five years, not just in the fiscal year beginning July 1. It goes on to accurately list some of the taxes and fees proposed to fill the significant budget hole this year, including a new 75-cent retail delivery fee and higher taxes on gambling. And though critics have said Moore should focus on eliminating more spending, the website also criticizes cuts and tax shifts like the $200 million reduction planned for disabilities services. In response, the Maryland Democratic Party launched its own website, 'Budget Facts MD.' It details elements of Moore's proposal that go unmentioned by 'No Moore,' like cutting the corporate income tax rate and giving a tax cut to two-thirds of filers. It also reiterates a point Moore has made since he entered office and particularly since the budget picture worsened in late 2024. A structural deficit — which is different from an immediate cash deficit like the $3 billion hole this year — has been predicted by budget officials since 2017, and 'one-time' funding sources like federal stimulus money during the pandemic 'papered over' the issue. With 16 months until voting begins in the 2026 primary, it's difficult to tell whether attacks on Moore and Democratic lawmakers' tax package will make a difference, observers say. A statewide poll conducted Dec. 27 through Jan. 4 by Anne Arundel County-based Gonzales Research & Media Services found Moore had an early double-digit lead over Hogan in a potential matchup. Kromer said there is a broad question in the Maryland Republican Party about who could run and have a chance at success if Hogan decides not to run. She pointed to the increased activity from conservative members of the General Assembly like those who formed the Freedom Caucus. In a statewide race where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, their or any other Republican's success would come from following Hogan's model of focusing on fiscal issues and not wading into 'culture war issues,' she said. 'This has to be a certain type of Republican,' she said. 'They have to win 30% of Democrats.' Wood, the Maryland GOP spokesman, said he believes there is 'huge potential' for a backlash against Moore and other Democrats like the one at the end of the O'Malley era. Morgan, the Freedom Caucus chair from St. Mary's County, said his group isn't focused on campaigns but on having 'an unprecedented amount of transparency' as it highlights what it believes are the impacts of Democrats' legislation, which Republicans have little chance to influence while in the super-minority. 'If you're putting out good policy and on the side of the people of Maryland, campaigns take care of themselves,' Morgan said. ---------
