Second and third round of endorsements for Maryland General Assembly spotlight additional candidates committed to passing climate justice legislation
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Today, CCAN Action Fund announced an exciting FINAL round of Maryland candidate endorsements based on climate commitments for 2022. These candidates include a dozen Senate climate champions and 25 House delegates, including many in top leadership positions. This is CCAN Action Fund’s third round of endorsements for the 2022 Maryland primary elections. Today’s announcement brings us up to a total of 107 candidate endorsements for the Maryland General Assembly plus two statewide offices.
Watch video introduction from CCAN Action Fund leaders on YouTube.
See the full list of MD climate champion endorsements on the CCAN Action Fund website.
In its seven-year history, this is the first time that CCAN Action Fund has endorsed candidates for Maryland offices, demonstrating the urgency of electing lawmakers who will take action on climate in a state that is especially vulnerable to the growing impacts of global warming.
CCAN Action Fund is endorsing this slate of candidates based on their proven commitment to supporting climate justice legislation, including the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019 and the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. Almost all of the endorsed candidates have also signed the Maryland Climate Justice Resolution, pledging to support new legislation that will enable the state to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 without incentives for trash incineration. The resolution also calls for investments in underserved communities, increased access to clean transportation and transportation alternatives, and ensuring that large clean-energy projects use local, union labor.
Here is the combined list of second and third round of “Climate Champions” that CCAN Action Fund has endorsed for the Maryland General Assembly:
Maryland State Senate
| Joanne Benson, D-24 | Guy Guzzone, D-13 | Cory McCray, D-45 |
| Jill P Carter, D-41 | Antonio Hayes, D-40 | Jim Rosapepe, D-21 |
| Mike Dreisbach, D-1 | Shelly Hettleman, D-11 | Will Smith, D-20 |
| Sarah Elfreth, D-30 | Nancy King, D-39 | Charles Sydnor, D-44 |
| Bill Ferguson, D-46 | Katherine Klausmeier, D-8 | Jeff Waldstreicher, D-18 |
| Katie Fry Hester, D-9 | Ben Kramer, D-19 | Mary Washington, D-43 |
| Dawn Gile, D-33 | Clarence Lam, D-12 | Craig Zucker, D-14 |
| Michele Gregory, D-38 | Susan Lee, D-16 | |
| Melony Griffith, D-25 | Karen Lewis Young, D-3 |
Maryland House of Delegates
| Gabriel Acevero, D-39 | Andrea Harrison, D-24 | Joseline Pena-Melnyk, D-21 |
| Vanessa Atterbeary, D-13 | Anne Healey, D-22 | N. Scott Phillips, D-10 |
| Heather Bagnall, D-33C | Shaneka Henson, D-30A | Lily Qi D-15 |
| Ben Barnes, D-21 | Carrie Hinton, D-1C | Pam Queen, D-14 |
| Sandy Bartlett, D-32 | Julian Ivey, D-47A | Kirill Reznik, D-39 |
| Regina Boyce, D-43A | Adrienne Jones, D-10 | Mike Rogers, D-32 |
| Tony Bridges, D-41 | Rachel Jones, D-27B | Samuel Rosenberg, D-41 |
| Mark Chang, D-32 | Dana Jones, D- 30A | Sheila Ruth, D- 44B |
| Luke Clippinger, D-46 | Anne Kaiser, D-14 | Emily Shetty, D-18 |
| Charlotte Crutchfield, D-19 | Aaron Kaufman, D-18 | Stephanie Smith, D-45 |
| Bonnie Cullison, D-19 | Ariana Kelly, D-16 | Jared Solomon, D-18 |
| Debra Davis, D-28 | Ken Kerr, D-3 | Robert Spear, D-1A |
| Eric Ebersole, D-44A | Paul Konka, D-42A | Jen Terrasa, D-13 |
| Mark Edleson, D-46 | Marc Korman, D-16 | Veronica Turner, D-26 |
| Elizabeth Embry, D-43A | Mary Lehman, D-21 | Kriselda Valderrama, D-26 |
| Jessica Feldmark, D-12 | Robbyn Lewis, D-46 | Joe Vogel, D-17 |
| Diana Fennell, D-47A | Jazz Lewis, D-24 | Alonzo Washington, D-22 |
| Linda Foley, D-15 | Lesley Lopez, D-39 | Courtney Watson, D-9B |
| Cathi Forbes, D-43B | Sara Love, D-16 | Melissa Wells, D-40 |
| David Fraser-Hidalgo, D-15 | Eric Luedtke, D-14 | Jennifer White, D-10 |
| Brooke Grossman, D-2B | David Moon, D-20 | Jheanelle Wilkins, D-20 |
| Michele Guyton, D-42B | Julie Palakovich Carr D-17 | Nicole A. Williams, D-22 |
| Pam Guzzone, D-13 | Edith Patterson, D-28 | CT Wilson, D-28 |
| Millicent Hall, D-4 |
“CCAN Action Fund is taking this unprecedented step – endorsing candidates for the upcoming Maryland primary election – because we’re running out of time to pass the bold and transformative climate legislation we need to avert a global climate crisis. We need strong leaders who will take action as soon as possible. As voters, the collective power is in our hands. Together, we can elect true climate champions who will stand up for our future.” — Mike Tidwell, Executive Director, CCAN Action Fund.
“The science is clear: Every second counts when it comes to climate action. We’re already seeing the impacts of the climate crisis in our own state. That’s why it is more important than ever that we mobilize for this year’s elections in Maryland — we simply don’t have four years to delay. Without statewide leaders and a General Assembly who will take action on climate, we cannot meet the urgency of this crisis.” — Anthony Field, MD Campaign Coordinator, CCAN Action Fund.
CCAN Action Fund will announce endorsements for the general election in the coming months.
For more information about CCAN Action Fund’s endorsements for the upcoming Maryland elections, visit https://ccanactionfund.org/climate-champions/.
This message has been authorized and paid for by CCAN Action Fund, PO Box 11138, Takoma Park, MD 20913, Albert Nunez, Treasurer. This message has not been authorized or approved by any candidate.
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The CCAN Action Fund is the advocacy arm of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the oldest and largest grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. For almost 20 years, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.