Sunday, January 8, 2012

GOP Delegate Don Dwyer Will Abandon D31A House Seat in 2014 // Anne Arundel County Lawmaker Plans State Senate Run

UPDATE: Len Lazarick (who edits Maryland Reporter) had a column in The Business Monthly last November, where he discussed how the new state legislative districts could push a number of endangered lawmakers into the Anne Arundel County Executive's race. I guess we're seeing some of that playing out now!

When Maryland announced its proposed 2014 state legislative districts, one of our sources pointed out that GOP lawmaker Don Dwyer's new District 31A was now likely to elect a Democrat. Apparently, the incumbent agrees. Yesterday, Tim Pratt at The Capital Gazette reported that Del. Dwyer has moved out of D31A and has reiterated his intention to run for the District 31 State Senate seat in 2014:
What's clear is that Del. Don Dwyer, a conservative Republican, won't run in a new, more racially diverse district centered in Glen Burnie.
The three-term delegate confirmed this week that he has moved out of his longtime home in Harundale and now lives in Pasadena....

The Republican delegate also restated his intention to run for the District 31 senate seat in 2014, creating an open seat in the new subdistrict.
Mr. Dwyer's interest in the D31 State Senate seat currently held by Bryan Simonaire is not a new development. Twelve hours after winning re-election in 2010, Mr. Dwyer announced his interest in his colleague's seat. At the time, The Capital Gazette reported:
Twelve hours after the team of Republicans in District 31 learned they had all won re-election, the group's most outspoken member announced he's already looking four years into the future.

The Capital Del. Don Dwyer, left, says he'd like to take the state Senate seat of Sen. Bryan Simonaire, right, in 2014....

His announcement drew mild criticism from Simonaire, R-Pasadena, and fellow Republican Dels. Steve Schuh and Nic Kipke,. They all said Dwyer is getting ahead of himself.
Mr. Dwyer may have felt comfortable outing himself as a candidate for State Senate since the incumbent Sen. Simonaire has publicly discussed plans for an Anne Arundel County Executive bid in 2014. Last September, The Maryland Gazette reported that Mr. Simonaire had launched an exploratory effort for Executive:
Hoping to keep his political options open, state Sen. Bryan Simonaire said Wednesday he is forming a committee to explore a possible run for county executive....

The race for county executive in 2014 is wide open at this point. Term limits will prevent County Executive John Leopold, another Pasadena Republican, from running for re-election. No one has declared themselves a candidate and Simonaire is the first to announce an exploratory committee.
More fallout from Maryland's new legislative districts soon!

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