By Adam Pagnucco.
District 16’s Senator Sara Love and Delegate Marc Korman have announced that they are running for reelection. That’s no surprise. They have also announced that they are running as a team. Again, no surprise. But here’s the question: what about the other two Delegates?
Korman, one of the most influential elected officials in both Montgomery County and Annapolis, was first elected in 2014. Love was elected to the House in 2018 and was appointed to the Senate last year. The two issued a press release today announcing that they are running for reelection together.
Omitted from the press release are the other two Delegates – Sarah Wolek (appointed in 2023) and Teresa Woorman (appointed last year). Woorman was a sitting member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) at the time the committee appointed her. The anonymous release of arrest records pertaining to one of her rivals led one MCDCC member to request an investigation of the appointment. In the last round of campaign finance reports, Wolek had money and Woorman did not.
So why are Love and Korman running by themselves? Their press release says at the bottom: “At this time, no decisions have been made regarding other campaign team members.” Given the super-competitive nature of District 16, which is based in and around Bethesda, that could provoke a flood of actual and potential candidacies. Who wouldn’t want to run with Love and Korman, especially if they’re holding auditions? And Woorman’s lack of campaign fundraising makes competition even more attractive.
District 16 could rival District 39 (where Delegate Gabe Acevero has more enemies than dollars) as the most interesting legislative district in MoCo next year.
The press release by Love and Korman is reprinted below.
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District 16’s State Senator Sara Love and Delegate Marc Korman File for Re-election
Pair once again running as a team
State Senator Sara Love and Delegate Marc Korman announced today their intention to run for reelection as a team and ask the voters for an opportunity to continue representing Maryland’s state legislative District 16 in Annapolis. The legislators have committed to continue to advance a robust and effective agenda for District 16.
“Together, Delegate Korman and I have fought for our constituents, both in tandem on environmental and transportation issues and as a complement bringing our individual expertise in areas such as the budget and criminal justice,” said Senator Love. “As a team, I am confident that we can continue to work together in both the House and the Senate to best serve our constituents.”
“Senator Love and I have worked together since 2018 on such issues as public school funding, investing in major transportation projects and systems, and working to meet our ambitious environmental goals. As we face the uncertainty of a new federal era, that work is more important than ever,” said Korman. “I look forward to four more years of collaboration on behalf of our District 16 constituents.”
“It’s a dark time in the federal government and that has serious consequences for us in Maryland. While I’m fighting for the rule of law in Washington, I am always grateful for the steady and principled leadership of Senator Sara Love and Delegate Marc Korman in Annapolis helping to guide our state and our democracy through the turbulence,” said Congressman Jamie Raskin.
“As a District 16 resident, I am proud to be represented by Senator Sara Love and Delegate Marc Korman. I worked closely with both of them when I was Attorney General on our shared priorities, including consumer protection, public safety and criminal justice reform, and environmental protection. I am pleased to support them for re-election,” said former Attorney General and District 16 Senator Brian Frosh.
“Maryland is in challenging budgetary times but I trust Senator Love and Delegate Korman to do what is both right for our state and in the best interests of District 16,” explained Nancy Kopp, former State Treasurer and District 16 Delegate.
“As long-time District 16 residents and activists, we appreciate and applaud how knowledgeable, accessible and responsive Senator Love and Delegate Korman have always proven themselves to be. We have fortunately worked with them for years on a range of issues including social justice, criminal justice, and reproductive health. They are talented leaders,” said District 16’s Susie Turnbull, 2018 Lieutenant Governor nominee and Bruce Turnbull, community activist.
“Senator Love and Delegate Korman are the strong and steady Democratic Party and county leaders we need to keep leading us through these uncertain times,” stated Karen Britto, former District 16 Delegate and Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair.
Senator Sara Love is serving her first term in the Senate where she sits on the Judicial Proceedings Committee. This follows her successful tenure in the House where she chaired the Motor Vehicle and Transportation Subcommittee on the Environment and Transportation Committee. While in the House she led on privacy issues, including authoring the country’s strongest online data privacy protection law, and on environmental issues, including cleaning our Bay and updating our forest conservation law to preserve more trees. Learn more at saralove4md.com.
Delegate Marc Korman serves as chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, one of just six standing committees in the House of Delegates. He previously served as House Majority Leader and in the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee. He is the author of Maryland’s dedicated funding for Metro program and has sponsored successful bills related to environmental sustainability, government transparency, education funding, and more. Learn more at marckorman.com.
The District 16 legislative district is represented by one State Senator and three Delegates. At this time, no decisions have been made regarding other campaign team members.