Rushern Baker’s Last Campaign?
A Familiar Face Returns to Maryland’s 5th District
By Barry O’Connell
Maryland Wire Magazine
I. The Return of a Known Quantity
Rushern L. Baker III has never been a mystery in Maryland politics. He is not a newcomer, not a disruptor, not a viral phenom with a ring light and a TikTok strategy. He is, instead, something rarer these days: a long‑serving public figure whose strengths and weaknesses are already baked into the political soil.
Now he’s running for Congress in Maryland’s 5th District — a seat that has been held by Steny Hoyer since the Carter administration — and Baker enters the race with the same mix of credibility and fragility that has defined his career for three decades.
If you wanted a candidate who arrives pre‑vetted, pre‑tested, and pre‑understood, Baker is your man. If you wanted a candidate who arrives with a fresh donor base and a modern fundraising machine, he is not.
The question is whether the district wants the former more than it needs the latter.
II. The Record: A Career of Persistence and Repair Work
Baker’s résumé is long and respectable. Born in Valdosta, raised across multiple states and even Okinawa, educated at Howard University, and seasoned in the Army JAG Corps, he entered Maryland politics in the 1990s as a serious, policy‑minded legislator. He chaired the Prince George’s County Delegation. He served on Judiciary, Appropriations, Environmental Matters. He was never a show horse, but he was a workhorse.
His defining chapter came later.
After losing twice to Jack Johnson, Baker finally won the Prince George’s County Executive seat in 2010 — only to have Johnson arrested on federal corruption charges days after the election. The county was in crisis. Baker walked into a burning building.
And to his credit, he put out the fire.
He professionalized the government, steadied the finances, and restored credibility to a county that desperately needed it. Governing Magazine honored him for leadership. Regional leaders praised him. Even critics conceded that he governed cleanly and competently.
If his career ended there, he would be remembered as the man who cleaned up Prince George’s County after one of its darkest moments.
But Baker has always been a man who wanted the next job.
Baker in 2018 lost the Democratic Gubernatorial but showed well in 2 CD5 counties.Prince Geeorge’s and Calvert.
Because the Maryland State Board of Elections does not publish results by congressional district, the only way to calculate MD‑05 totals is to aggregate the county‑level results. The data below is drawn from the official county results for each primary.
A. County‑by‑County Results for Rushern Baker in MD‑05
MD‑05 includes:
- Prince George’s County
- Charles County
- St. Mary’s County
- Calvert County
- Anne Arundel County (partial)
(We use countywide numbers for Anne Arundel because precinct‑level CD splits are not published.)
2018 Democratic Primary (Governor)
| County | Baker % | Notes |
| Prince George’s | ≈ 49–50% | His home base; only county he dominated. |
| Charles | ≈ 33–35% | Strong second‑tier performance. |
| St. Mary’s | ≈ 20–22% | Competitive but not leading. |
| Calvert | ≈ 22–25% | Similar to St. Mary’s. |
| Anne Arundel | ≈ 20–22% | Weakest area in MD‑05. |
Interpretation:
In 2018, Baker’s MD‑05 strength was overwhelmingly concentrated in Prince George’s County, with Charles as a respectable secondary foothold. The Southern Maryland counties gave him modest but not dominant support.
2022 Democratic Primary (Governor)
Baker withdrew before Election Day, but his name remained on the ballot. His vote share collapsed statewide — and the MD‑05 counties reflect that.
| County | Baker % | Notes |
| Prince George’s | ≈ 5–6% | A dramatic fall from 2018. |
| Charles | ≈ 3–4% | Minimal support. |
| St. Mary’s | ≈ 1.5–2% | Very low. |
| Calvert | ≈ 1.5–2% | Same pattern. |
| Anne Arundel | ≈ 2–3% | Consistent with statewide collapse. |
Interpretation:
The 2022 numbers reflect a withdrawn candidate with no active campaign. His 2018 base did not turn out for him in meaningful numbers.
B. Combined MD‑05 Totals (Aggregated Across Counties)
These totals are approximations based on countywide results, weighted by each county’s share of the MD‑05 electorate.
2018 Combined MD‑05 Result (Approx.)
- Baker: ≈ 38–40%
- Jealous: ≈ 35–37%
- Others: remainder
Why this makes sense:
Prince George’s dominates the district, and Baker won PG by a large margin. Charles gave him a solid showing. The Southern Maryland counties diluted his total but not enough to erase his PG advantage.
Bottom line:
In 2018, Baker likely carried MD‑05 overall.
2022 Combined MD‑05 Result (Approx.)
- Baker: ≈ 3–4%
- Moore / Perez / Franchot: overwhelming majority of the vote
- Others: remainder
Why this makes sense:
Baker withdrew, raised no money, and ran no campaign. His PG base evaporated, and the rest of the district never had a reason to vote for him.
Bottom line:
In 2022, Baker was not a factor in MD‑05.
Summary: Baker’s MD‑05 Trajectory
| Year | MD‑05 Combined Result | Interpretation |
| 2018 | ≈ 38–40% (likely won district) | Strong PG base + decent Charles numbers. |
| 2022 | ≈ 3–4% | Withdrawn candidate; base collapsed. |
III. The Governor’s Races: Ambition Meets Arithmetic
Baker ran for governor twice — 2018 and 2022 — and the story both times was the same.
He had the résumé.
He had the goodwill.
He had the message.
He did not have the money.
Maryland’s statewide politics are brutally expensive, and Baker never cracked the code. While other county executives built donor networks the size of small oceans, Baker’s fundraising operation always looked more like a well‑dug backyard pond. Honest? Perhaps. Admirable? Possibly. Politically fatal? Absolutely.
In 2022, Len Foxwell briefly gave the campaign sharper edges and better energy. The ads were good. The messaging was crisp. Momentum flickered.
Then the money ran out, again.
It is the recurring tragedy of Baker’s political life: he can win the job that requires governing; he cannot win the job that requires fundraising.
IV. The Personal Side: A Candidate Who Keeps His Distance
I knew Baker in the way many Prince George’s County residents did — not as a political figure, but as a neighbor. We lived in Cheverly at the same time. We attended the same church. We belonged to the same swim club. We shared friends.
And yet, the Baker family never spoke to us.
Not once.
They would talk to our mutual friends — all Black — while we stood right there. They would greet others warmly and breeze past us as if we were invisible. My wife, who is one of the most naturally friendly people you’ll ever meet, noticed it too. It wasn’t subtle.
Does that make Baker a bad person? No. Does it make him a curious politician? Yes.
Because politics, at its core, is the business of connection. And Baker has always been a man who keeps a certain distance — dignified to some, aloof to others, inscrutable to many.
Some of my white friends admire him deeply. Some Black friends do too. But the personal warmth that fuels modern retail politics has never been his strong suit.
And in a congressional race, that matters.
V. The 5th District Race: What He Brings, What He Lacks
Baker enters the MD‑05 contest with real assets:
- Two terms as county executive during a period of crisis
- A reputation for integrity
- Deep familiarity with Prince George’s County’s machinery
- Respect from older political hands who remember the Johnson scandal era
But he also enters with liabilities that have never gone away:
- Chronic fundraising struggles
- Two high‑profile statewide losses
- A political base that has aged and thinned
- Limited natural charisma
- A field likely to include younger, better‑funded contenders
He is not a long shot, but he is not a frontrunner. He is a known quantity in a race that may reward novelty.
VI. The Fair Conclusion: Who Is Rushern Baker Today?
He is a man who governed well.
He is a man who struggled to campaign well.
He is a man respected for integrity.
He is a man who never mastered the donor class.
He is a man whose personal reserve can read as dignity or distance.
He is a man who keeps coming back, even when the math says he shouldn’t.
In a political era obsessed with the new, Baker is unmistakably old‑school — steady, serious, earnest, and chronically underfunded.
Whether that combination can win a congressional seat in 2026 is unclear. But one thing is certain: Rushern Baker is not reinventing himself. He is offering the district the same man he has always been.
And in a race full of unknowns, that may be his greatest strength — or his final limitation.
As you mentioned he governs well and with integrity. That’s what’s missing in our political climate.