By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“We are a little uncomfortable with some of the attention that’s come into this race.” - Wicomico County Councilmember Josh Hastings, on his discussions with Del. Barry Beauchamp, the Republican incumbent he’s trying to unseat in District 38B, about the outside attention — and money — that has come into their race.
There are four more days to vote early and Election Day is a week from tomorrow. So we’re starting your Monday with election stories of course. Welcome back to the working week.
With few truly competitive races in the state this year, attention is turning to legislative subdistricts — those one- and two-member districts that have fewer voters to sway and tend to me more volatile. And one that’s drawing a lot of attention is the Lower Shore’s District 38B race between Republican Del. Barry Beauchamp and Wicomico County Councilmember Josh Hastings, a Democrat, where the attention is even making the candidates uncomfortable. Josh Kurtz has that story.
They’re candidates now, but soon enough many of those running for school board seats around the state will find themselves in office. And when they do, they’ll be facing a host of challenges, one of the biggest of which will be implementing policy on the use of artificial intelligence in schools. Board hopefuls have a range of thoughts on the issue, as Capital News Service’s Hannah Harris reports.
Those stories and more, plus a roundup of headlines for the past week, are below to get you going this Monday as we begin the sprint toward Election Day. Enjoy!
Voters cast their ballots Thursday at Honeygo Community Center in Baltimore County. With few competitive races on the ballot, attention is turning to the more competitive legislative subdistricts. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
By Josh Kurtz
Across the U.S., the upcoming election is being described, by American voters and pundits of every political stripe, as an existential exercise.
In Maryland, not so much.
Even with most contests a foregone conclusion, however, there are still a handful of races for state House and Senate seats this year that are considered competitive and merit attention. The hardest-fought House races are largely in subdistricts, with a smaller universe of voters – which potentially makes them more volatile and easier to influence. And one getting the most attention is District 38B in Wicomico County, where Wicomico County Councilmember Josh Hastings (D) is challenging appointed Del. Barry Beauchamp (R). Democrat Kamala Harris carried the district by 7 points in the 2024 presidential election.
With so few competitive races on the docket across the state, it means the Beauchamp-Hastings election is getting an inordinate amount of attention, and funding, from outside forces. It’s something the two candidates have discussed among themselves.
Candidates elected to local school boards this fall will face a significant challenge: overseeing the implementation — and regulation — of artificial intelligence in the state’s 24 school districts. (Photo by David Espejo/Stock photo via Getty Images)
By Hannah Harris
More than 135 candidates are running in Maryland’s school board elections, and those who win will face a significant challenge: overseeing the implementation — and regulation — of artificial intelligence in the state’s 24 school districts.
In an effort to add clarity to the issue, the General Assembly passed the Artificial Intelligence Ready Schools Act, in April. The bill required all Maryland public school systems to adopt their own plans to integrate AI into K-12 education by the beginning of October.
That law was clearly on the minds of candidates who responded to a Local News Network survey on a variety of issues, including their county’s AI policy. Some candidates responded to the survey before their county’s policy had been implemented, while others did so after their local school board had acted. Many of those who responded did so with some trepidation about the fast-changing technology.
IN OTHER NEWS
In deep-blue Maryland, competitive races are scarce: When most Marylanders go to the polls, they are not likely to be casting their ballots in State House races considered competitive — and experts say that has long been the case in the largely Democratic state.
Prices at the polls: Growing frustration over high prices has defined many campaigns this fall, as rising costs of healthcare, gas and groceries during President Donald Trump’s second term have put Republicans on defense, in Washington and in states nationwide.
OPM give DOGE unlawful records access: The Office of Personnel Management unlawfully gave the Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive federal personnel data on millions of past, current and aspiring federal employees, a judge ruled.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Banned book ordered back in Harford schools: Lawmakers and educators Friday hailed a Harford County Circuit Court judge's ruling reversing the county school board's decision to pull a graphic novel from school system library shelves.
Maryland also target of suspicious letters: Almost every member of Congress from Maryland, as well as the state's elections office, received ominous letters filled with what turned out to be a nontoxic powder in the last week, part of nationwide string of attacks.
Graduate degree required: Statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, a new report says, with readability varying by state. It comes as critics say Maryland’s Question 3 wording, on redistricting, is too complex.
MOST-READ STORIES OF THE WEEK
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