ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — State Sen. Richard Madaleno Jr. is launching his candidacy for governor of Maryland.
The Montgomery County Democrat kicked off his campaign Monday at the Universities of Shady Grove in Rockville. Madaleno is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who has said he’ll seek a second term next year.
The leading Hogan critic has been a member of the Senate since 2007, after spending four years in the House of Delegates.
Madaleno said he believes voters looking for progressive leadership will see him as the answer to conservative Republican values embraced by incumbent Hogan.
“Whether it’s raising the minimum wage, raising the earned income tax credit, coming up with landmark legislation to fund our public schools and universities, I have been at the forefront leading the charge,” Madaleno said. “I have fought these battles, these progressive battles and I have won time and time again.”
He said his fifteen years of achievement in the General Assembly is what sets him apart from the five other candidates vying for the democratic nomination.
“No other candidate has taken on so many of the toughest fights from the inside and won them — from education to transportation, from economic development to economic justice, from sustainable health care to environmental sustainability,” Madaleno said. “Larry Hogan refuses to serve the people of Maryland,” he said.
Madaleno was the first openly gay lawmaker elected to the state Senate. At the news conference announcing his bid, he introduced his husband, parents, members of his extended family and children.
Madaleno joins several other Democrats who are running, including Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, entrepreneur Alec Ross and lawyer Jim Shea.
The Maryland primary election is next June.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
