{"id":11491971,"date":"2025-06-08T05:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T09:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11491971&preview=true&preview_id=11491971"},"modified":"2025-06-08T05:01:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T09:01:05","slug":"as-pittman-nears-maryland-dem-chair-what-does-it-mean-for-anne-arundel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/06\/08\/as-pittman-nears-maryland-dem-chair-what-does-it-mean-for-anne-arundel\/","title":{"rendered":"As Pittman eyes Maryland Democratic Party chair, what does it mean for Anne Arundel?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman announced his plans to resign by June 13<\/a>, all eyes shifted to Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman.<\/p>\n

Gov. Wes Moore and Ulman say Pittman is the next man for the job. Moore intends to nominate Pittman later this month, all but guaranteeing he will fill out the remainder of Ulman\u2019s term, which ends next year.<\/p>\n

Pittman faces an array of challenges. Every statewide elected official \u2014 Moore, all 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly, the entire eight-member U.S. House delegation, Attorney General Anthony Brown and Comptroller Brooke Lierman \u2014 will be on the ballot in 2026.<\/p>\n

In an interview with the Capital Gazette, he\u00a0said he\u2019s up for the challenges that come with becoming the lead\u00a0fundraiser and campaign spokesperson for the state\u2019s Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is, of course, to win elections and elect great people \u2014 the party has been really good at that,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cI\u2019d like to strengthen and deepen the party as a permanent institution. Part of that is expanding the small donor base of the party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central committee members from each county will vote June 21 in Prince George\u2019s County at a meeting of all Democratic State Central Committees. No other candidates have emerged so far.<\/p>\n

Balance<\/h4>\n

Pittman hopes to help his friend Wes Moore win reelection in 2026. While Pittman, a two-term county executive, is lending some of his campaign success<\/a> to the gubernatorial race, some question whether he can do so without his day job interfering.<\/p>\n

Dan Nataf, political science professor at Anne Arundel County Community College, questions how effectively Pittman can help Democratic\u00a0leadership while juggling the partisan nature of politics and the bipartisan nature of governing.<\/p>\n

He says the timing is \u201cunusual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I think he could do well if he were not county executive,\u201d Nataf said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how easily the two roles mesh together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Budgeting time was also a concern of Nataf\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly a full-time job to be county executive and doesn\u2019t leave a lot of time to dabble in other things,\u201d Nataf said. \u201cI could see that it would be unexpected and maybe good for the party to have him, but from the governance point of view, in my mind it\u2019s a distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittman dismissed concerns. He compared balancing the two roles to any politician on the campaign trail. Similarly, Pittman said he\u2019ll handle the workload the same way he did in 2022 when he sought reelection.<\/p>\n

This time, Pittman would be working on behalf of multiple candidates. He said he\u2019d be involved in campaigns across the state, whether he was state party chair or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe work of being on the campaign trail for reelection [along with] governing does take some time,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cBut it\u2019s normal toward the end of a term to be doing political work like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solace out of the spotlight<\/h4>\n

Pittman said removing himself from the candidate spotlight \u2014 where he admitted being uncomfortable during his first campaign \u2014 and instead working on behalf of state Democrats is a sweet spot for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent most of my life as an advocate for causes and it was always a little different to be advocating for my own candidacy,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cWorking on behalf of the Democratic Party is a more comfortable space for me.\u201d<\/p>\n