By Adam Pagnucco.
District 20 Senator Will Smith and Delegates David Moon and Jheanelle Wilkins have decided to team up with non-incumbent House candidate Lorig Charkoudian in the upcoming primary. Moon explained his decision to endorse his team on his Facebook page, writing specifically about Charkoudian, “I’ve also worked these last few years with Lorig on criminal justice reform and know she shares my commitment to driving down mass incarceration in Maryland. She used to live on my block in Takoma Park, and I’ve gotten to see her passion for justice issues up close.”
The decision to include a non-incumbent on the slate is reminiscent of 2014, when Senator Jamie Raskin and Delegate Sheila Hixson teamed up with new House candidates Moon and Smith. In that election, all four were on the Apple Ballot. That’s not true this time around as MCEA has supported Smith, Moon, Wilkins and second-time House candidate Darian Unger.
In addition to the incumbents, Charkoudian is supported by Casa in Action, the Laborers Union, MCGEO and NOW. Unger is supported by MCEA, SEIU Locals 500 and 32BJ and the Volunteer Fire Fighters. (Unger is himself a volunteer.) On May 22, Charkoudian reported a cash balance of $37,226 and Unger had $27,897.