Out Maryland State Senator Richard
Madaleno, a Democrat from Montgomery County, on Monday announced he's
running for governor.
Madaleno made his official announcement
at the University at Shady Grove in North Potomac.
“I'm running for governor and I'm
going to win,” Madaleno
said.
When first elected to the Senate in
2006 after serving a term in the House of Delegates, Madaleno, 52,
became the chamber's first openly gay member. He was a strong
supporter of the same-sex marriage bill then-Governor Martin O'Malley
signed in 2012 and introduced a transgender rights bill that became
law in 2014. Madaleno and his husband Mark are raising two children.
In his announcement speech, Madaleno
described himself as a “proud husband and a loving father.”
“I will never back down on civil
rights, on LGBTQ rights, on workers' rights, on women's rights on
voting rights,” he told the crowd. “Our rights cannot and will
not be sacrificed with Rich Madaleno as governor.”
Other Democrats vying to challenge
Governor Larry Hogan next year include Prince George's County
Executive Rushern Baker, former NCAAP President Ben Jealous and
former State Department official Alec Ross.
Madaleno declared that he is the only
Democrat who can beat Hogan next fall.
“I will win because there is no other
candidate in this, including the incumbent, who brings my track
record of leadership and real results for the people of Maryland,”
Madaleno said.
He also pledged to hold President
Donald Trump “accountable for the damage being done to our state
and to our country.”
According to a poll conducted last
year, Hogan, Maryland's second Republican governor in nearly 50
years, has a strong (70%) approval rating, even among Democrats
(53%).