Lt. Gov. Rutherford won’t run for Maryland governor
Cross Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford off the list of potential candidates for Maryland governor next year.
The Republican issued a statement Wednesday morning saying that after “months of careful reflection,” he’s opting not to make a run for the state’s highest office.
“This was a decision that I made with my family’s best interest in mind,” Rutherford said in a statement.
Rutherford was elected lieutenant governor alongside Gov. Larry Hogan in 2014, and reelected in 2018. The duo is in their second and final term together; due to term limits they cannot run again.
He came to the role with extensive experience in government procurement at both the state and federal levels, including a prior stint as the state’s secretary of the Department of General Services. He also was an assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rutherford has worked on issues including mental health services, the opioid crisis and procurement reform. He has a dry sense of humor that’s been showcased in a series of YouTube videos about state government called “Mundane (But Meaningful).”
During Hogan’s treatment for cancer in 2015 and last year during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Rutherford was assigned to oversee most functions of state government while the governor was focused on the crises at hand.
Rutherford had long been considered a possible successor to Hogan in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates who have been floated include Harford County Executive Barry Glassman and Kelly Schulz, the state secretary of commerce. Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, now a TV commentator, has said he’s looking into a potential run.
On the Democratic side, there are three announced candidates: Comptroller Peter Franchot, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, and Jon Baron of Montgomery County, who works in public policy with a philanthropic organization.
Several other Democrats are considering a run or being encouraged to get into the race, including: Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.; former federal labor secretary and former Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez; former federal education secretary John B. King, who recently formed a nonprofit advocacy group in Maryland; Doug Gansler, former Montgomery County prosecutor and state attorney general; author and activist Wes Moore; U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown, a former lieutenant governor who was the party’s nominee in 2014; and U.S. Rep. David Trone.
Rutherford’s decision was first reported on the Maryland Matters website.