Maryland

Placeholder

Highest-power issue: Jail for regulatory offenses that require no criminal intent. Current recommendation: Endorse Pauline Cho.

1. Jail for regulatory offenses that require no criminal intent · power 60
2. Licensing barriers to harmless work · power 60
3. Qualified immunity when officials injure nonviolent people · power 48
4. Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession · power 20

Judiciary

Placeholder

Judges rule on warrants, constitutional limits, and how a penalty is applied. They do not rewrite a clear statute, and this scorecard does not ask them to.

Jail for regulatory offenses that require no criminal intent

Placeholder. A business owner or a license holder can be jailed, or carry a criminal record, for breaking a rule that does not require knowledge or intent. The conduct is ordinary work. Sample entry for Maryland.

Harm: 4
Reach: 5
Office impact: 3
Power: 60

Conduct 4 and penalty severity 3 (Misdemeanor, up to a year) blend 60/40 into harm 4. Power 60 = 4 × 5 × 3.

Who can act

Judges apply the text and the constitution. They can refuse an unreasonable search, limit a forfeiture, or strike a penalty that exceeds the charter. They cannot supply a mental state the legislature deleted. Office impact is high when the dispute is constitutional and low when the statute is plain. On a missing mental-state element, judges sometimes read one in. They are on weak ground when the legislature was explicit, and the score reflects that limit. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Pauline Cho's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Pauline Cho is fictional.

2026 judicial elections

Endorse Pauline Cho

Placeholder judiciary race for the 2026 cycle in Maryland. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Pauline Cho (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Pauline Cho

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 69

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Thea York

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -30

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Maryland, Judiciary. The issue in this office is “Jail for regulatory offenses that require no criminal intent.” Pauline Cho leads Thea York after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Pauline Cho is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state

Legislature

Placeholder

The legislature drafts the statute, sets the penalty and the mental state, funds the agencies, and can sunset an emergency power. On most of these issues it holds the text.

Licensing barriers to harmless work

Placeholder. A person who braids hair, gives ordinary advice, or runs a one-chair trade has to buy a license designed for a different occupation, or face fines and a shutdown. Sample entry for Maryland.

Harm: 3
Reach: 4
Office impact: 5
Power: 60

Conduct 3 and penalty severity 2 (License, property, or forfeiture) blend 60/40 into harm 3. Power 60 = 3 × 4 × 5.

Who can act

The legislature writes the penalty, the mental state, and the budget. On the question of how severely the law punishes peaceful conduct, this is usually the office with the text in its hands. One seat matters only as part of a majority, which is what winnability has to reflect. On licensing, the legislature creates the category, the hours, and the penalty for working without permission. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Ned Okoye's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Ned Okoye is fictional.

2026 legislative elections

Endorse Ned Okoye

Placeholder legislature race for the 2026 cycle in Maryland. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Ned Okoye (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Ned Okoye

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 69

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Rosa Becket

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -30

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Maryland, Legislature. The issue in this office is “Licensing barriers to harmless work.” Ned Okoye leads Rosa Becket after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Ned Okoye is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state

Attorney general

Placeholder

The attorney general decides appeals, civil enforcement, and often whether the state will defend a statute. Charging power over ordinary crimes may sit with county attorneys. The entry says so when that split matters.

Qualified immunity when officials injure nonviolent people

Placeholder. An official uses force or a seizure against a person who was not violent, and immunity ends the civil case before a jury sees it. The severity score treats the lost remedy as a property-level harm, not a prison term. That is an editorial judgment, and it is labeled as one. Sample entry for Maryland.

Harm: 3
Reach: 4
Office impact: 4
Power: 48

Conduct 4 and penalty severity 2 (License, property, or forfeiture) blend 60/40 into harm 3. Power 48 = 3 × 4 × 4.

Who can act

An attorney general rarely rewrites a statute. The office decides which cases to bring, which appeals to pursue, which settlements to accept, and, in many states, whether to defend a statute at all. That is power over how a penalty is used, not over the fact that it exists. On qualified immunity, the attorney general decides whether the state will defend the shield or confess a narrower rule on appeal. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Olive Brant's chance in this office, 1 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Olive Brant is fictional.

2026 attorney general election

Toss-up

Placeholder attorney general race for the 2026 cycle in Maryland. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “longshot” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Toss-up — The better-aligned candidate is below the winnability floor. Leading score: Olive Brant. (The better-aligned candidate is below the winnability floor.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Olive Brant

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 1 · Score 19.2

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Saul Nesser

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 5 · Score -31.2

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Maryland, Attorney general. The issue in this office is “Qualified immunity when officials injure nonviolent people.” Editors mark a toss-up because Olive Brant has the better liberty alignment, and a winnability of 1, which is below the floor the coalition will endorse. The better-aligned candidate is below the winnability floor. Olive Brant and Saul Nesser are fictional.

All calls for this state

Governor

Placeholder

The governor signs or vetoes statutes, issues and withdraws executive orders, appoints agency heads, and proposes the budget. The office does not write a criminal penalty on its own.

Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession

Placeholder scenario, not a claim about current state law. A non-prohibited adult faces a felony for possessing a firearm without a permission slip, or for a paperwork defect that involves no violence. Sample entry for Maryland.

Harm: 5
Reach: 2
Office impact: 2
Power: 20

Conduct 5 and penalty severity 4 (Felony imprisonment) blend 60/40 into harm 5. Power 20 = 5 × 2 × 2.

Who can act

A governor does not write the statute. The office can veto a penalty, refuse to expand it, appoint the people who enforce it, and propose the budget that feeds it. Where the harm lives in an order or an agency rule, the governor's pen is the direct instrument. On a possession felony, the governor's share is the veto and the pardon. The words of the felony belong to the legislature. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Leah Vossman's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Leah Vossman is fictional.

2026 gubernatorial election

Endorse Leah Vossman

Placeholder governor race for the 2026 cycle in Maryland. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Leah Vossman (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Leah Vossman

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 23

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Quentin Daly

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -10

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Maryland, Governor. The issue in this office is “Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession.” Leah Vossman leads Quentin Daly after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Leah Vossman is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state