Will Maryland and Virginia become one-party states?

OPINION:

When motorists cross the Potomac River from Virginia via the bridge at Point of Rocks, Maryland, they are greeted by a “Welcome to Maryland” sign with a message from Gov. Wes Moore: “Leave no one behind.”

That might sound good if it meant something like the U.S. military’s daring rescue of the downed jet pilot in Iran this month, but coming from a liberal Democrat such as Mr. Moore, it’s more like a vow to have government reach into every last aspect of people’s lives.

Democrats already control seven of the state’s eight congressional seats, but that’s not enough. Mr. Moore has called for gerrymandering the Eastern Shore district of Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican and the chairman of the House Conservative Caucus.

In 2010, Democrats gerrymandered Western Maryland, which had been represented by 10-term Republican conservative Roscoe Bartlett. He didn’t fit into the Baltimore machine’s idea of a congressman, so they got rid of him in 2012. Now they want to finish the job of making Maryland a one-party state like Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

Baltimore is by far the state’s largest city. It was the girlhood home of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose father, Thomas d’Alesandro Jr., was a mob-connected three-term mayor. Baltimore’s political culture is a classic urban mix of union power, identity politics, poverty, socialism and high crime.

On the other side of the ledger, it has the Orioles, Ravens, Johns Hopkins University and some first-rate Italian and seafood restaurants. Plus, Fort McHenry and the Chesapeake Bay.

Then we come to education. According to the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program for 2024-2025, only 13% of students in grades three through 12 in Baltimore City schools were proficient in math, and only 31% in English. SAT scores cratered to a new low.

Losing nearly 2,500 students from 2019 to 2025, Baltimore City Public Schools nonetheless added nearly 2,100 full-time staff. Nearby Baltimore County added 531 employees during that period while losing nearly 3,800 students, according to Georgetown University data cited by Heritage Foundation research fellow Corey DeAngelis in The Washington Times.

You might think that parents are getting a better deal because there must be more teachers per student, but the number of teachers in Baltimore County decreased by 53, along with a drop in custodians, bus drivers and cafeteria workers — the people who directly serve the students. The staffing increase was 267 school bureaucrats, a hike of 21%.

On top of this, a new study by Lending Tree pegs Maryland as the third most expensive state in which to raise a child, trailing only Hawaii and Alaska.

Getting back to Mr. Moore’s promise of not leaving anyone behind, Maryland lawmakers are now taking aim at the state’s faith-based schools, which they don’t control but wish they did.

In March, the state House passed HB 649, which adds gender identity and sexual orientation to anti-discrimination law and applies it to all schools, including private and religious schools. Now in the Senate, the bill would create a private right of action so that leftist groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union or the Satanic Temple can sue faith-based schools that won’t bend their knees to Baal or Baphomet.

The tally was 100 Democrats voting yes and 35 Republicans voting no. Remember this the next time someone insists the parties are indistinguishable.

Once upon a time, Maryland residents who grew tired of the Free State’s leftist rulers could move to Virginia, but that option is closing. Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who campaigned as a moderate Democrat but emerged as a flame-throwing radical upon taking power in January, is pushing a multipronged, left-wing agenda, including tax hikes and gun grabbing.

After stating that she opposed gerrymandering, she threw her support behind a gerrymandering constitutional amendment. It would change the state’s congressional delegation from six Democrats and five Republicans to 10 Democrats and one Republican.

Sounds fair, right? The ballot language actually ensures voters that it would “restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”

Democrats, who say they want to counter Republican partisan redistricting in Texas, ignored constitutional rules by rushing it to the ballot, and the Virginia Supreme Court punted the case until after the election, set for April 21.

Early voting has been underway since March 6. For some reason, Democrats love “Election Month” instead of Election Day. Turnout has been surprisingly strong in rural Republican areas that face disenfranchisement, but the outcome is anyone’s guess.

Although the amendment could well determine which party wins the U.S. House in November, Democrats are outspending Republicans by millions of dollars. That was how they won another Wisconsin Supreme Court seat Tuesday.

Somebody with deep pockets had better wake up.

If Virginia goes the way of Maryland, then where will God-fearing, conservative Virginians and Maryland refugees go next? Joseph R. Biden’s Delaware? Or will they develop a strange new respect for longhorns and gators?

• Robert Knight is a columnist for The Washington Times. His website is roberthknight.com.