Occupation: A newly crowned (by an “electorate” of 25 or so political club insiders) Maryland State Senator, representing MoCo’s 16th District
Affiliations: Maryland Democratic Party. Member, serving on the Environment & Transportation Committee and two of its subcommittees, the Motor Vehicle & Transportation Subcommittee, which Love also chairs, and the Environment Subcommittee. In May of 2022, ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, Delegate Love launched StandUp MD, a program to “train college students and recent graduates about political organizing” and to “support pro-choice candidates in Maryland”. No word on whether this choice extends to saying “no thanks” to a vaccine mandated by government.
Background: Delegate Love eeked out a primary election third-place “win” in the Bethesda-area district back in 2018. In a field of eight candidates during a super crowded primary, Love edged out a Montgomery Blair High School teacher by just 12 votes. She then finished third place in the general election but it was enough to get onto the slate of delegates from MoCo (each making over $50,000 a year for work essentially over 10 weeks). Now, thanks to “democracy” (not really) in Maryland’s statehouse appointment process (which could have been reformed in 2024 by Democrats in Annapolis but was punted), she is going to be one of just 47 state senators wielding power. Love was a co-sponsor on MD House Bill 412 (which died) which would have amended “AN ACT concerning General Assembly – Special Election to Fill a Vacancy in Office”, so a small hat tip is due… but the delegate sure had no qualms of running to power and utilizing the current broken process later in the year.
Hates growing prosperity in MoCo? Not as virulently as others in the County delegation, but several of her proposed bills have died on the legislative vine. And thankfully. The delegate was a co-sponsor on HB 403 – literally an end of life bill that sought to promote euthanasia. “This bill, the End-of-Life Option Act, seeks to authorize individuals to request for aid in dying in a regulated manner”. The delegate also didn’t speak up much on the regressive, tax and fee-hiking bill that is slamming Marylanders with huge vehicle registration hikes.
A unifier, working across parties and divisions? No. A quick scroll through the delegate’s Twitter / X.com feed will reveal she is most definitely not a unifying force in MoCo politicians. Do you like a former President with blonde hair? Maybe even just a little? Delegate Love likely regards you as a “deplorable”.
Fun fact: Don’t enjoy your Saturdays? The new Senator uses her “StandUp MD 2024 Program” to… basically get discounted canvasser labor to promote… her name / brand. No, really. See below, screenshot in June from https://saralove4md.com/standup-md:
What’s next? The delegate has now been crowned a state senator and will be one for the remained of 2025-26 before a trying to win re-election in what is sure to be a competitive primary in the summer of 2026. Only 47 of these plum positions exist and the former delegate will now hold outsized sway in Annapolis on a variety of issues. Maryland’s economic outlook isn’t pretty though… and people don’t seem to be in the mood for still more tax and fee hikes. But – maybe the Bethesda-area constituents of the State Senator look forward to more regressive taxes or higher income tax hikes. Who knows?
Related posts:
CleanSlate MoCo Spotlight: Local Opponents of Prosperity & Individual Choice – State Delegate David Moon (District 20)
CleanSlate MoCo Spotlight: Local Opponents of Prosperity & Individual Choice – State Senator Ben Kramer (District 19)
MD Sec of State Susan C Lee, Who Says Removal of Donald Trump from Maryland Primary Ballots is “Under Consideration”, Has an Interesting Political History in MoCo (Part 1)