Todd Hobbs Contributor 📅 October 1, 2026

Don’t Grumble and Stay Home; Get Angry and Stay Home; Go out and Vote out the Democrats!!!

I’m a lifelong Marylander, and I’m tired of hearing that leaving is the only sensible option. I understand why people say it. When the bills keep climbing, and the people in charge keep asking for patience, moving starts to sound practical. Still, this is home. I’d like to see us fight for it before we start packing.

That’s what I take from former Gov. Bob Ehrlich’s message about turning frustration into votes. Plenty of anger is out there. You can spend an evening reading it online. But the officials making these decisions can survive angry comments. What they need to worry about is losing their jobs.

Wes Moore and the Democrats running Annapolis ought to answer a few ordinary questions. Is it getting easier to afford a life here? Are we managing the state’s money well? Are children learning what they need to learn? Those seem like reasonable things to ask before signing up for another four years.

Take the budget.  Maryland entered the 2025 legislative session facing a roughly $3 billion gap for fiscal 2026. The eventual deal included substantial spending cuts. It also included about $1.2 billion in new taxes and fees across fiscal years 2025 and 2026, plus additional transportation revenue. That’s according to the legislature’s own fiscal analysis.¹

I know government has bills to pay. So does everybody else. Before asking residents for more, elected officials should explain how they’ll keep the same problem from landing on our doorstep again. Balancing one budget is necessary.  Making the numbers work beyond that year matters, too.

Then open the electric bill.  Federal figures put Maryland’s average residential electricity price at 21.30 cents per kilowatt-hour through July 2026, up from 18.75 cents during the same period a year earlier. You don’t need a campaign ad to explain why that gets people’s attention.²

Moore doesn’t set every charge on that bill. Regional markets and other forces matter.  However, he and the legislature do make energy policy, and I want to hear how their decisions will help us afford reliable electricity. Give us the costs, the timetable, and the tradeoffs. Let people judge the plan.

The credit downgrade deserves the same straight talk.  In May 2025, Moody’s lowered Maryland’s rating from Aaa to Aa1.  As a result Wes Moore fired Moody’s for the downgrade.  So, we know wiht Wes Moore and Democrats, bad news gets shot the messenger. (figuratively speaking)  Its analysis described economic weakness, high fixed costs, and particular vulnerability to federal job cuts and policy changes.  It also credited the state’s financial management.  Both belong in an honest account.³

Maryland isn’t going bankrupt. But losing the top rating should prompt more than an argument about who’s to blame. Our exposure to Washington is real. So is Annapolis’s responsibility to prepare for trouble.

Then there are the schools.  The 2025–26 results showed 51.7 percent proficiency in English language arts and 27.1 percent in math.  Those represented five-year highs, and students and teachers deserve credit for the gains.  Yet fewer than three in ten students met the math proficiency standard.  I can appreciate improvement and still find that deeply troubling.⁴

Parents should know what happens next for a child who is behind. Who provides the extra help? How soon? How will anyone know it worked? Another encouraging announcement won’t answer those questions.

Republicans have obligations here, too. Being the alternative doesn’t excuse a candidate from explaining a budget or defending an education proposal. Ask them hard questions. I want candidates who can tell us what they would change and how they would pay for it.

But incumbents have a record, and voters are entitled to decide it isn’t good enough. Nobody owes Moore another term. Nobody owes a legislator another vote because the party label is familiar.

I’d rather stay in Maryland and help change its direction. If you feel the same way, look closely at the candidates asking to replace this leadership. Give them a hearing. Then follow through at the ballot box.

The people running Annapolis are asking us to renew their contracts. We’re allowed to say no.

Endnotes

1. Maryland Department of Legislative Services, Effect of the 2025 Legislative Program on the Financial Condition of the State. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/Pubs/BudgetFiscal/2025rs-fiscal-effects.pdf

2. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_06_b

3. Moody’s, Maryland (State of): Update to Credit Analysis Following Downgrade to Aa1. https://treasurer.state.md.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Moody15May2025-PBM_1448592.pdf

4. Maryland State Department of Education, State MCAP Scores Reach Five-Year High in English Language Arts and Mathematics. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MDMSDE/bulletins/422793f

Todd Hobbs is a Contributor at Direct Line News Magazine. A project of the Montgomery County Republican Club

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