BERLIN- With a sweeping victory in the new House Delegate 38C district, which encompasses much of northern Worcester County and an eastern section of Wicomico County, Republican Mary Beth Carozza is hardly what would be considered a political neophyte.
The House Delegate districts were redrawn since the last election, creating a new 38C district and an opportunity for someone to emerge as the representative in Annapolis to represent Worcester County, the resort area and a portion of Wicomico. Early on, Democrat Judy Davis filed for the seat and triumphed over fellow candidate and Ocean Pines resident Mike Hindi in the June primary. Republican and Ocean City native Mary Beth Carozza, who has served key roles as a Republican at the federal and state levels, was unchallenged in the primary and advanced to Tuesday’s General Election.
Following a statewide trend on Tuesday, Carozza won in a landslide, although her margin of victory and her strong showing in both Worcester and Wicomico suggests she was not merely the beneficiary of the groundswell of support for Republicans in the state. Overall, Carozza garnered 11,019 total votes, or 74 percent, compared to 3,884, or 26 percent for Davis. In Worcester, Carozza earned 9,126 votes, compared to 3,342 for Davis.
A similar trend played out in the Wicomico segment of the new district with 1,893 voting for Carozza and 542 casting their ballots for Davis. Carozza said on Thursday she worked hard in all areas of the district and was somewhat overwhelmed by the level of support.
“It’s a great time in Maryland,” she said. “I’m really humbled and grateful for the support of the voters in the district. My goal was to earn a broad cross-section of support and be in a position of strength and I think we accomplished that on Tuesday.”
Carozza is clearly no stranger to politics after serving for 28 years in senior leadership positions in the state and federal government. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs in President George W. Bush’s Administration and served as Deputy Chief of Staff for former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich. Carozza also served as Deputy Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee and was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 2003. Nonetheless, she was taken aback somewhat by the sweeping mandate for Republicans in Maryland on Tuesday.
“It’s starting to hit me this win is part of a history-making triumph in Maryland,” she said. “Winning the governor’s race is historic and with Republicans winning all across Maryland, we now have a 50-member caucus where before we only had 43. Before, we didn’t have the numbers to prevent the House leadership from stopping important legislation and putting it in a drawer at the committee level, but this changes that. This will allow us to move forward with Governor Hogan’s and Lieutenant Governor Rutherford’s agenda. With 50 seats in the House, this is truly a mandate to change Maryland.”
With her vast political background, Carozza is clearly not a typical freshman House Delegate. She worked previously with Governor-Elect Larry Hogan and Lieutenant-Elect Boyd Rutherford and has already reached out to the new state leadership team.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “I’ve already been in contact with the Republican leadership about the transition. I’ve always been a team player and we’re already discussing where I can best help the team. I served with both Hogan and Rutherford on Governor Ehrlich’s staff and I’m in a position to work closely on the transition. That groundwork is already being laid.”
As a native of Worcester County and Ocean City, Carozza is ready to go to work on behalf of her new district and said the state leadership has a strong connection with the resort and the Lower Shore.
“The governor drives the agenda and the budget, and Governor-elect Hogan has close ties to the Lower Shore and has a place in Ocean City,” she said. “We’re really in a position to advocate for the district and Worcester County and Ocean City.”
Tuesday’s results indicate Carozza has vast support from all corners and all parties and age groups in the district and does not appear to be the direct beneficiary of the Republican landslide. She said this week she was particularly pleased with the support from one demographic in the district.
“From the beginning 16 months ago, I really wanted to reach out to a cross-section and campaign for all ages and we were able to do that,” she said. “We included a lot of young people and they participated in parades and county fairs and all other events. It is great to have them engaged in the process and it was a really exciting part of the campaign.”
For her part, Davis took the defeat on Tuesday graciously in stride and vowed to continue to be part of the political process in the district. Davis dismissed any notion her opponent was in any way the beneficiary of the groundswell of support for Republicans.
“I’m no political expert, but I really didn’t anticipate the avalanche for Republicans across the state,” she said. “I really enjoyed the process and I was involved in campaigning for about two years. I really enjoyed the challenge and enjoyed meeting folks in the community and learning and discussing the issues with them.”
Davis said her interest in seeking office piqued when the new District 38C was created.
“Despite the outcome, it was personally satisfying,” she said. “It was a very unique opportunity with a new House district and it seemed like the right fit for me.”
She said she plans to remain active, although her future plans for seeking election were uncertain. In the meantime, she hopes to lend her expertise to the district in other ways going forward.
“I already reached out to Mary Beth and congratulated her,” she said on Wednesday. “I’m not sure what’s next for me politically if anything, but I will continue to do the things I’ve always done. With my teaching background and family support background, I believe I might be able to help and hope to remain involved. We have a phenomenal community that is very engaged in the issues.”
Perhaps the most stunning Lower Shore House Delegate outcome came in District 38A, where longtime Delegate and Democrat Norm Conway was ousted by Republican and Delmar Mayor Carl Anderton. For decades, Conway served in the old District 38B with fellow Democrat Bennett Bozman and later Jim Mathias and most recently Mike McDermott.
For years, Conway has been the chairman of the all-important House Appropriations Committee and largely controlled the purse strings for state expenditures on the Lower Shore and across Maryland. While the Carozza-Davis election was more about experience than partisanship, it appears Conway was clearly the victim of the Republican landslide. In the new District 38A, which only includes a section of Wicomico, Anderton received 5,395 votes, or 53 percent, while Conway finished with 4,828, or 47 percent.