Out Maryland State Senator Richard
Madaleno, a Democrat from Montgomery County, said this week that he's
considering a run for governor.
A poll conducted last year showed
Governor Larry Hogan, Maryland's second Republican governor in nearly
50 years, with a strong job approval rating at 70 percent. A
majority of Democrats (53%) said they either strongly approve or
somewhat approve of the job Hogan is doing.
When asked by a The Baltimore
Sun reporter about his plans, Madaleno replied that he could be
included on the list of Democrats considering a run against Hogan
next year.
Among the Democrats on that list is
Delegate Maggie McIntosh of Baltimore City, an out lesbian who said
in November that she might challenge Hogan.
Other possible Democratic candidates
are strong supporters of LGBT rights, including former NAACP national
CEO Benjamin Jealous.
When first elected to the Senate in
2006 after serving a term in the House of Delegates, Madaleno, 51,
became the chamber's first openly gay member.