The Maryland Senate Republican Caucus on Saturday elected Senator Bryan Simonaire as Minority Leader and Senator Michael Hough as Minority Whip. As previously reported on Conduit Street, Senators J.B. Jennings and Stephen Hershey — the longest-serving leadership team in the history of the Senate Republican Caucus — last week announced that they would not seek re-election to their respective leadership posts.

“We want to thank Senator Jennings and Hershey for their years of service to our caucus, and we hope to build upon their success,” said Senate Minority Leader Bryan Simonaire and Senate Minority Whip Michael Hough in a joint statement.

According to a statement from the Senate Republican Caucus:

Senator Bryan Simonaire has been a member of the Senate since 2007 and represents District 31 in Anne Arundel County.  Simonaire served on the Judicial Proceedings Committee from 2007 to 2010 and currently serves on the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs (EHE) committee.  Simonaire is also the Chair of the EHE Alcohol Subcommittee.

Senator Michael Hough represents District 4 in Frederick and Carroll Counties and has been a member of the Senate since 2015 after serving in the House of Delegates from 2011-2015.  Senator Hough was the House of Delegate’s Assistant Minority Leader from 2013-2014.  Hough currently serves on the Judicial Proceedings Committee.

“Senate President Ferguson has shown a genuine willingness to work with all senators and we look forward to working with him in a manner that benefits all Marylanders,” said Senate Minority Leader Bryan Simonaire. “However, we must realize that while Maryland politicians have constructed a one-party dominant legislature, we are not a one-party state.  Nearly half of all Marylanders are not in the Democratic Party and even more do not subscribe to the recent far-left trajectory taken by the Senate.  They deserve a strong minority voice advocating their concerns and desires, and we intend to fulfill that responsibility.”

“We will focus on policy. We don’t expect to win every fight, but we will make the senate work better to serve the people of Maryland,” said Senate Minority Whip Michael Hough. “As the minority party we are the watchdogs against abuse of power. When the Democratic majority is in the wrong, we will call them out. We will cooperate to make wiser laws and be careful guardians of the people’s checkbook.”

Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more information.

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