Democratic leaders throw support behind Henson in contentious state Senate race

Sen. Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel), appointed to fill the District 30 Senate seat in early 2025, is looking to make history this fall by becoming the first Black senator elected to represent Anne Arundel County. And state Democrats are spending heavily to make sure that happens.

In campaign reports filed Friday, the Maryland Democratic Senate Caucus Committee reported $488,399.10 of in-kind contributions to Henson’s campaign in just the past two months.

It’s the latest turn in what was already one of the most-heated legislative races in the general election, with charges of ethics violations and racism and a vocal split by Democrats dismayed by Henson’s more moderate stance on social issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.

The fighting has also boosted the odds on Republican nominee Jessica Haire in a Senate district the Democrats have held for at least 44 years. Haire, a former Anne Arundel County Council member, said she supports abortion access as a matter of “personal freedom.”

But Haire is more focused on what she called Henson’s record of missed votes as a delegate, and on a 2024 letter from the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics — it urged Henson to apologize to the public and to legislative leaders for her involvement as a delegate in funding requests for a religious organization to which she belonged.

“I think everybody should be talking about Sen. Henson’s ethics,” Haire said in a recent interview. “There are going to be differences in opinion, but it doesn’t change the fact that we have to have honesty. We don’t have that right now from the sitting senator.”

Henson remains focused on the potentially historic nature of her campaign.

“We’re doing something that’s never been done before,” she said in an interview during a recent reception hosted by County Executive Steuart Pittman (D) at Metropolitan Kitchen and Lounge in Annapolis. “Anytime you do something that’s never been done before, you better believe you’re going to work hard for it.”

And Henson isn’t taking any chances. She’s running hard: In addition to the caucus funding, she touts support from U.S. Rep. Sara Elfreth (D-3rd), colleagues from the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City). Gov. Wes Moore (D), who donated $6,000 to her campaign, was billed as a special guest at an Oct. 20 reception for Henson in Annapolis.

“When I see the support for this campaign, I see a ton of investors. If this was a portfolio, it would be the most diversified portfolio that an investment [has] ever had,” Henson, an attorney, said. “We’ve had an outpouring of support from all across the state fighting for this district and fighting for this seat, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Overall, Henson’s campaign reports raising $316,510.19 and spending $267,510.41, in addition to the in-kind contributions from the Senate caucus fund. Haire reported raising $252,453.95 and spending $288,292.96. Her campaign also received $58,437.84 of in-kind contributions from the Senate Republican Caucus Committee over the past two months.

District 30 includes Annapolis as well as the South County communities of Edgewater and Shady Side, which are more conservative.

Henson was serving on the Annapolis City Council in 2019 when she was appointed to fill the seat of the late House Speaker Michael Busch (D), who represented District 30A. She was elected to the House of Delegates seat in 2022 before being appointed to the Senate last year, filling the seat left behind when Elfreth was elected to Congress.

The Senate appointment came after the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee recommended Henson over fellow Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel) on a 10-9 vote, leaving some political fallout in its wake.

During her time in both chambers, Henson has been an advocate for renters’ rights, including a 2026 law that limits landlords’ ability to consider criminal background when evaluating a prospective tenant, and a 2025 law bolstering protections for tenants against mold. She sides with most Democratic policy measures, including recent legislation to protect Maryland’s undocumented immigrants against federal immigration agents.

But some Democrats have grown skeptical of Henson’s voting record on issues important to the party, such as abortion access and LGBTQ+ initiatives, and say they’re ready for new leadership.

In 2022, Henson voted against the Abortion Care Access Act, which increased Maryland Medicaid coverage for abortion procedures, and was one of a handful of Democrats to vote to uphold Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto of the legislation.

Legislative ethics panel admonishes Henson for conflict of interest, misuse of official title

In 2023, she did not vote on the Trans Health Equity Act, which expanded Medicaid coverage so that low-income transgender Marylanders could receive gender-affirming care, including voice training, hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and several cosmetic and surgical alterations for the face and body. Henson also didn’t vote on a bill in 2024, also while still in the House, to expand protections to providers of gender-affirming care.

It’s why some abortion activists have thrown their support behind Haire, the Republican nominee whose support of abortion access has earned her an endorsement by Reproductive Justice Maryland Action.

“I believe in personal freedom and personal responsibility … across all aspects of life. I don’t see how you can come at this issue from any other way,” Haire said. “These are deeply personal issues and should be dealt with individually, and on that front, the government should largely stay out of it.”

Sharon Blugis, founder and deputy director of Reproductive Justice Maryland, says the upcoming election could be the “last chance” to get Henson out of the Senate seat.

“Henson is not a good partner at the moment, you can’t trust her when she says she’s going to vote or not vote for something,” she said.

But even Blugis admits that some Democrats who are not happy with Henson’s legislative votes may find it hard to cross party lines for Haire.

“This isn’t perfect,” Blugis said. “I tell those people: ‘You can leave it blank or vote for Jessica.’”

‘It’s a clear choice’

Johntel Greene, who runs a consulting firm, said she will vote for Henson, downplaying criticism of Henson’s voting record in the House. The bills in question were overwhelmingly passed by the Democratic majority in the legislature, Greene noted, so Henson’s vote did not affect the outcome of the bills.

“A lot of them were actually walk-offs, so it’s not a record of voting against, and that’s part of her deliberation with faith,” Greene said of Henson.

Henson has voted in support of some legislation for the LBGTQ+ community and health care protections for women, especially Black women, such as creation of statewide LGBTQ+ commission and enshrining reproductive rights in the state constitution, which voters approved in the November 2024 election.

Greene noted that when Haire ran for Anne Arundel County executive in 2022 against current County Executive Steuart Pittman (D), Democrats accused her of being associated with Rory McShane, a Republican consultant whose firm was associated with the neo-fascist and racist group The Proud Boys. Haire said at that time she ended her association with group when she found out about the group’s extremist connection.

Haire, an attorney, is married to former chairman of the Republican Party of Maryland Dirk Haire, also an attorney.

“To me, it’s a clear choice,” Greene said. “Do you want Annapolis represented by someone who’d be willing to take more rights away, or do you want somebody who’s willing to fight for communities? She [Henson] is somebody who actually goes into communities. She brings a different voice to Annapolis and a needed voice to the Senate.”

Imperfect candidates

Still hanging over the race are the findings of a legislative ethics panel released in April 2024, about two days after the General Assembly adjourned for that year. The report said Henson engaged in what it called an “ongoing practice” to hide her personal and professional relationship with an Odenton-based religious group seeking more than $1 million in state bond money.

The investigation, which began a year earlier, said Henson’s actions created “at minimum, the appearance of a conflict of interest,” and it admonished her for an improper use of her official title in an advertisement for her law firm. The letter asked Henson to publicly apologize to the public, the speaker of the House and other legislative leaders, and it recommended that she be barred from serving on the House Appropriations Committee, which handle capital grant requests.

Henson declined to comment on Blugis and others criticizing her work. But she did say the Senate could have a different look come January.

If elected to a full term, Henson would be one of just three Black women in the 47-member Senate. Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City and Baltimore County) is running unopposed as is Del. Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s), the Democratic nominee to replace Sen. Joanne C. Benson, who did not seek reelection after more than three decades in the legislature.

“When I say that to people, they don’t believe that there could only be three Black women in the Senate of Maryland because Maryland is such a progressive state,” Henson said.

“But any time you are doing something that’s never been done before, you are breaking new ground,” she said. “I understand that. I feel that. I see that. I sense that, and I take on that challenge.”

Although the District 30 Senate election is one of the most bitterly fought in the state, analysts say Henson could hang on in a year when Democratic enthusiasm is much higher than that of Republicans.

The district has been competitive in the past but is turning bluer. Former Vice President Kamala Harris (D) won 58% of the vote there during the 2024 presidential election, but the district also voted for former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) during his two campaigns, and has elected both Republicans and Democrats to its legislative delegation over the years.

“The tough thing for Republicans this cycle is it is a midterm election with a very unpopular incumbent president, who is even more unpopular in Maryland,” said St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly in a recent interview. “When that happens, it tends to drive turnout among the party that’s out of power nationwide, regardless of the fact that Democrats dominate Maryland.”