What to Know in Washington: Maryland Suburbs Flex Election Clout

Baltimore has long been the powerhouse of Maryland Democratic politics, home to prominent figures such as retiring Sen. Ben Cardin.

The leading candidates to replace Cardin next year, though, reside south of the aging industrial aging city, in the booming and increasingly diverse counties that abut Washington D.C.

Shifting demographics increasingly have made the suburbs a focus in presidential and statewide races across the nation. In the 2024 campaign cycle, the political importance of suburbia is on display in Maryland, where candidates from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties will dominate the primaries in the overwhelmingly Democratic state.

“It used to be thought of as Baltimore City being the official pockets and base of the Democratic Party in the state,” said political strategist Ray Glendening. “Now, I would without a doubt want to be from Prince George’s or Montgomery County if I was putting together the ideal candidate to run for a statewide race.”

The growing political prominence of the suburbs in Democratic politics comes as communities closest to city lines increasingly attract minority residents, said Karyn Lacy of the University of Michigan.

Black residents now make up 59% of Prince George’s County, surpassing the percentage of Black residents in the city of Baltimore, according to 2020 Census figures. Montgomery County, which long had a reputation as an affluent largely white suburb, is now 41% white, with Black and Hispanic populations increasing.

Prince George’s and Montgomery grew by a combined 190,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, according to the Census. “There’s just a ton of voters there and it’s almost entirely Democratic,” Glendening said.

Recent races in Maryland back that up. In the 2022 gubernatorial primary, a combined 40% of the vote came out of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, while 27% came from the city of Baltimore and the surrounding county. Read the full story from Amelia Davidson.

BIDEN’S AGENDA

• Around 2:30 p.m., President Joe Biden will speak at the White House to recognize the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will deliver a briefing at 12:15 p.m. She will be joined by Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation John Podesta, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

Trump’s Latest Indictment

Trump Indictment Lays Out Sweeping Georgia Election Plot

Donald Trump was indicted in Atlanta over efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, the fourth criminal case against the former president as he campaigns for the White House.

• Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis uses Georgia’s racketeering statute to tell the story of a criminal organization, allegedly led by Trump, that gave false testimony to Georgia lawmakers, empaneled a phony slate of electors, intimidated poll workers, stole election machine data, and beseeched state officials to toss out votes. Read more.
• Willis charged not only Trump but also 18 of his allies, including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and ex-Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark. Read more.
• Meadows is seeking to move the Georgia criminal case against him to federal court from state court. Read more.
• The clerk of the Fulton County Superior Court took responsibility for posting a “sample” criminal case docket appearing to show charges against Trump hours before a grand jury voted to approve the real indictment. Read more.

Trump Uses Four Indictments as His Foremost 2024 Campaign Tool

Trump is turning his mounting legal woes into a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, betting that the polling boost from his indictments will translate into votes next year.

• Trump now faces a whopping 78 criminal counts. Trump has proclaimed his innocence, but if he were convicted and then sentenced to the maximum term for each count, he would theoretically face hundreds of years in prison. Read more.
• Here’s what Trump’s many legal perils mean for his 2024 bid. Read more.

MORE IN POLITICS & PROBES

• DeSantis’ Fundraising: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis leads Trump with a better than 6-to-1 advantage in campaign donations from lawyers, who appear eager to deny the former president a third Republican nomination. Read more.
• Hunter Biden: Hunter Biden’s lead criminal defense attorney is seeking permission to withdraw from the case because he could be called as a witness in future proceedings, CNN reports, citing a motion filed with a Delaware judge. Read more.
• ‘Dark Money’: A conservative group accused the founder of a progressive “dark money” network of abusing tax-exempt status to steer more than $228 million in fees to his for-profit consulting firm, echoing allegations made against a right-wing activist in April. Read more.
• Alex Jones: Lawyers for right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones argued he should be allowed to discharge roughly $1.4 billion in defamation judgments stemming from his statements about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Read more.

News From the White House

Biden Says ‘America Is Winning,’ Bashes GOP Pessimism on Economy

Biden accused Republicans of prioritizing corporate profits over manufacturing jobs during a speech in Milwaukee — a week before GOP candidates vying to replace him plan to gather there for their party’s first presidential debate.

A Year Into Biden’s Climate Agenda, the Price Tag Remains Mysterious

It’s been exactly one year since Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, securing a core part of his domestic agenda. One number has been hard to pin down over the past year: precisely how much will be spent as a result of the law. Cost estimates have continued to shift upward and now span a range of more than half a trillion dollars.

Biden’s Steel Boom Helps Spark Bidding War for an American Icon

With America’s most iconic steel company in the middle of a potential bidding war, there’s a growing spotlight on the prospect of a boost in domestic steel demand from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Biden Says He Will Visit Hawaii to See Damage From Wildfires

Biden said he intends to travel to Hawaii with first lady Jill Biden as soon as possible amid mounting pressure to see firsthand the devastation from wildfires in Maui.

AMLO to Meet in November With Biden and Pacific Alliance in US

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador plans to meet with Biden and representatives of the Pacific Alliance on Nov. 15-17 in San Francisco.

Coming Up on Capitol Hill

BGOV OnPoint: Crypto Legislation Gains Momentum

Lawmakers are pushing a flurry of bills to regulate cryptocurrencies amid concerns about consumer protections and regulatory confusion.

Schumer Endorses Bill to Avoid Shutdown Into Early December

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he supports passing a stopgap spending bill in late September that lasts until early December, paving the way for a potential bipartisan agreement to avoid a government shutdown after Sept. 30.

Republicans Accuse DOL of Ignoring Small Business in Rulemaking

Reps. Virginia Foxx (N.C.) and Kevin Kiley (Calif.), two prominent Republicans on the House committee with oversight of the Department of Labor, are pressing the Biden administration over concerns that small businesses are being ignored in the agency’s regulatory process, warning that it could lead to legal challenges against the agency’s policy moves.

Child Care Tax Breaks Floated as Tool to Avert Post-Covid Crisis

A bipartisan bill would expand tax credits that offset child care costs for parents and employers—a novel approach aimed at reducing costs as experts warn of an affordability crisis exacerbated by the pandemic.

What Else We’re Reading

Fed Officials Shift Rates Debate

As Federal Reserve officials close in on the end of their tightening campaign, the debate is shifting from how high interest rates need to go to how long they should stay elevated.

• A record of the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting due today is set to show only a minority of officials favored holding interest rates steady over the remainder of the year, according to Bloomberg Economics. Read more.

North Korea Says US Soldier Who Crossed Border Seeks Refuge

North Korean state media said the US soldier who ran across the border is seeking refuge there because of unfair treatment in the Army, making its first statement regarding an episode that has been a concern for the Biden administration.

Texas Supports Employers’ Push to Undo ACA Preventive Care Rule

A federal trial court properly vacated agency actions taken under an Obamacare mandate that requires employee health plans to pay for preventive health care, Texas told a federal appeals court.

Amazon Automates Insulin Discounts as Biden Pushes Price Cuts

Amazon’s pharmacy unit said it will automatically apply coupon discounts for insulin as the Biden administration seeks to expand access to lower prices for the medication.

Webinar: Uncover Details of the Federal IT Market

Federal agencies bought more than $72 billion in IT in fiscal 2022 and procured nearly $50 billion so far this year, with significant market segments including cloud services, digital services, and support tools.

Get insight into the competitive landscape for IT in Bloomberg Government’s webinar “Markets to Watch: Information Technology,” starting today at 11 a.m. Analyst Kerry Burgott will explore contract types, agency spending trends, and key contract vehicles.

Register for today’s webinar here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Brandon Lee at blee@bgov.com