Maryland

Democrats control the governor’s office and hold supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. Kamala Harris carried Maryland by 29 points in 2024. Governor Wes Moore signed a $71 billion state budget in the 2026 session without raising taxes.

None of that stopped the federal government from gutting the state’s economy. Nearly 25,000 federal workers in Maryland lost their jobs in 2025. The DC suburbs that depend on those paychecks are bleeding.

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DOGE gutted Maryland’s federal workforce

25,000 federal jobs lost in Maryland in 2025 alone

Before the cuts, 269,000 Maryland residents worked for the federal government, earning a combined $26.9 billion a year. That workforce shrank 9% in nine months. The DC/Maryland/Virginia region lost 34,100 federal positions between January and September 2025. Nationally, more than 350,000 workers left the federal payroll after Trump took office on January 20, 2025.

Maryland’s unemployment rate climbed from 3.8% to 4.2% between September and November 2025. That number understates the damage. Federal workers spend money at local businesses across Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, and Anne Arundel County. When those paychecks vanish, so does the local tax base.

The state tried to absorb the shock and then got hit by its own budget pressure. Moore’s government went from recruiting displaced federal workers to freezing its own hiring in four months.

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Three new laws stand between Maryland residents and ICE

The 2026 General Assembly passed three immigration protection laws. Together, they build a legal wall between state and local agencies and federal immigration enforcement.

The Maryland Values Act applies specifically to schools. Public school personnel must report any immigration enforcement activity at a school to the county superintendent. No school employee can assist in enforcement operations or hand over student records without a judge’s signature.

The Community Trust Act covers local police. Officers cannot honor ICE detainer requests based on administrative warrants alone. A judicial warrant is required before anyone can be held for federal immigration authorities.

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The Key Bridge rebuild keeps getting more expensive

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024. The replacement was supposed to cost under $2 billion and open in fall 2028. Both numbers are gone.

Estimate	Amount
Original projection	Under $2 billion
Current range	$4.3 billion to $5.2 billion
One contractor’s proposal	As high as $9 billion
Opening date	Pushed to late 2030

On April 28, 2026, state and federal officials announced they would part ways with contractor Kiewit at the end of its design and planning contract. The state cited the ballooning cost estimates. New builders will not be on board until summer 2027.

In December 2024, Biden signed a continuing resolution that included a provision to fully fund the Key Bridge replacement with federal dollars. That commitment now faces a project that has more than doubled in cost with no construction contractor in place.

The bridge is not just an infrastructure project. It is the corridor that 30,000 vehicles used daily and a test of whether state and federal government can deliver a complex rebuild without the cost spiraling beyond what any funding commitment can cover.

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New gun laws add a tax on firearms and restrict lead ammunition

Maryland already has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. The 2026 session added two more measures.

SB 118 imposes an 11% excise tax on firearm sales. The revenue funds gun violence prevention and victim services. SB 181 bans lead ammunition for hunting, a public health and environmental measure backed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

Johns Hopkins published “A Roadmap For Safety” in 2026, outlining additional policies to reduce gun violence in Maryland. The report gives the legislature a research-backed menu for future sessions.

HB 126 and SB 27 push in the other direction. Those bills would let concealed carry permit holders and law enforcement skip Maryland’s seven-day waiting period for firearms purchases. Watch whether those bills advance in the next session.

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2026 elections

Governor Wes Moore is running for a second term. Republican challengers have struggled to raise money and lack statewide campaign experience. Moore is heavily favored.

Race	Candidates	What to know
Governor	Wes Moore (D) vs. TBD (R)	Moore favored. Governing through federal layoff fallout.
U.S. Senate	Open or incumbent, depending on filing	Maryland has not elected a Republican senator since 1980.
General Assembly	All seats	Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers.

The real question is not who wins but what Moore does with a second term. The federal workforce crisis, the Key Bridge rebuild, and rising housing costs will define whether the Democratic supermajority translates into results people can feel.

29 points Kamala Harris’s margin of victory in Maryland in 2024

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Protect yourself right now

1. Check your voter registration. Maryland’s 2026 primary is June 23. Verify your status and polling place at elections.maryland.gov. The general election is November 3.

2. Know your rights if ICE contacts your school. Under the Maryland Values Act, school employees cannot share student data with immigration authorities without a judicial warrant. If you see enforcement activity at a school, contact the county superintendent.

3. File for unemployment if you lost a federal job. Maryland’s Division of Unemployment Insurance handles claims at labor.maryland.gov. Do not wait. Benefits have time limits.

4. Call the governor’s office. 410-974-3901. Ask what the state is doing to replace the 25,000 federal jobs lost in 2025 and when the expedited hiring program will restart.

5. Track the Key Bridge rebuild. The Maryland Transportation Authority posts updates at mdta.maryland.gov. The project has no construction contractor. Public comment periods will determine oversight and cost controls.