With the 2017 General Assembly session over, the 2018 gubernatorial race has begun.
At least eight Democrats are weighing whether to jump into the wide-open party primary next year to challenge popular Republican Gov. Larry Hogan for Maryland’s top office.
The session ended Monday. Now that the legislature has cleared the political stage — and the annual ban on political fundraising during the 90-day session has ended — the hopefuls are racing to raise money and capture the attention of party activists.
Democrats see an opportunity to reclaim the governor’s mansion in a state where they outnumber Republicans more than 2-1.
Rep. John Delaney, former Maryland attorney general Douglas F. Gansler, county executives Kevin Kamenetz and Rushern Baker, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., former NAACP executive director Benjamin Jealous, former Venable chairman James Shea, and entrepreneur and author Alec Ross all are exploring runs.
