In one of the most Democratic states in the nation, we need politicians who will lead by example on climate. The legislature recently overruled the Governor to pass the RENEW Act which instructs the Comptroller to calculate the financial harm of climate change in the state. This adds Maryland to the growing list of states taking efforts to “make polluters pay” – and the state will need bold climate fighters in future sessions to ensure its findings lead to penalties for the fossil fuel industry. Maryland will also have opportunities to pass legislation like the Affordable Solar Act to legalize balcony solar and dramatically expand utility-scale solar projects. With elections only every four years, these primaries are critical opportunities. We’re backing:

• Raaheela Ahmed for Senate District 23: Ahmed is lifelong Prince George’s county resident who has helped lead several national political organizations like the Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project and New American Leaders where she’s helped increase campus voter turnout and supported first generation immigrant elected officials. If elected, she will champion legislation that moves Maryland toward 100% clean energy, expands zero-emissions transportation and public transit, strengthens building electrification and energy efficiency standards, and makes polluters pay for climate damages.
• Amar Mukunda for State Senate District 39: Mukunda has served as a combat engineer in the US Army Reserve and, after losing a friend to gun violence, worked with community organization Roca to build it into Maryland’s largest community-based gun violence and addiction prevention program. He’s running to make Maryland a climate leader by bringing clean energy jobs to the state amidst federal job cuts, and to massively expand public transit infrastructure.

Frederick County: After the Frederick County Commission approved a 2.6k acre parcel of land for data center development in 2025, residents organized in opposition and came together to qualify a ballot initiative in November that would cancel this plan – gathering thousands more signatures than they need to get on the ballot. While that referendum heads to court to decide if it can be voted on, the same coalition is running several candidates to unseat some of the commissioners who supported the data center proposal. We’re backing:

• Sam Newhouse for Frederick County Council At Large: After growing up in Frederick County, Newhouse went on to work as a videographer and editor at Penn State for which he was awarded two Emmys for Excellence in Broadcast Sports Programming, and to achieve the rank of Corporal while serving in the Marines. He believes responsible planning for the future requires transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, which is why he’ll fight against the data center proposal and for electrification and clean energy measures.
• Tiffany Grant for Frederick County Council At Large: Grant is a longtime community advocate in Frederick who is running to ensure the county has binding environmental impact requirements for major developments which would ensure any new data centers commit to strong clean energy and labor standards. More broadly, she’ll be a champion for the county’s transition to a 100% renewable energy by working to end sacrifice zones, expand community-led solar, and electrify public transit. 
• Louisa Conklin for Frederick County Council District 1: Conklin works in the biotech industry overseeing a program that helps scientists find the funding they need to turn their medical discoveries into actual treatments. After organizing against the county’s data center proposal, Conklin decided to run for County Council and fight to ensure the county rejects the proposed expansion. She’ll fight instead to invest in clean energy and smart housing growth to ensure the county hits its emissions reduction goals, build its economy sustainably, and maintains a reliable grid.