The Eastern Shore is Bluer Than You Think
Jared Schablein • January 19, 2021
The Eastern Shore of Maryland and the rest of the Delmarva peninsula are visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. However, when it comes to politics and culture, the Eastern Shore is often misunderstood or blatantly ignored, which prevents much potential gain for the progressive movement and the Democratic Party.
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is much bluer than you think, and a proper investment in local organizations like the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus can yield big wins for the party and movement at the local, state, and federal levels.
The 2020 presidential election was historic in many ways, especially after the four-year nightmare of Donald Trump. However, one of the biggest pieces of history has been swept under the rug, and that is the fact that Joe Biden’s election signifies the first time a Delmarva citizen has held executive office at the federal level.
That change is a major milestone for this area and shows that as a region, we are a lot bluer than generally recognized. The Biden-Harris ticket won several counties on the Delmarva peninsula, including Northampton, New Castle, Kent in Delaware, Kent in Maryland, and Talbot. Biden also came within 860 votes of winning in Wicomico County, the best result for a Democrat running for president in the county since 1996.
The Lower Shore Progressive Caucus helped in the effort to elect Joe Biden. Our organization’s local effort focused on contacting voters on the Lower Eastern Shore, texting and phone banking local voters to build support for our locally endorsed progressive candidates and to remind them to vote. These efforts directly contributed to the massive turnout we saw on November 3. More importantly, it expanded the leftward trend on the Lower Shore over the last few cycles.
It has been said for decades that the Eastern Shore is an impenetrable red wall that cannot be won by Democrats, let alone progressive Democrats. However, the Shore is much more than a highway and some fields between the Western Shore and Ocean City and Assateague. It is a region that with the proper investment and care put into it can yield big results for the Democratic Party and progressive movement.
The Eastern Shore’s Democratic trend started in the 2008 presidential election, when Kent County voted for President Obama. The following cycle in 2010 saw more gains for Democrats as Sen. Barbara Mikulski won a commanding five of nine Eastern Shore counties. Mikulski’s performance on the Shore showed that when Democrats invest the resources and manpower needed to be competitive, they can win.
Mikulski wasn’t the only Democrat to perform well here, either. In 2018, Sen. Ben Cardin heavily invested on the Eastern Shore and won four of the nine counties.
When it comes to investing and campaigning on the Shore, nobody has done it better than Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot. For years, Franchot has made frequent visits to the Shore and has built up his name recognition and a broad base of support across the political spectrum and within every demographic.
His hard work paid off in 2018, when he won eight of nine counties by over 15 percent of the vote. A landslide victory on the Eastern shore by a Democrat is something not been seen in many decades, and shows that when a candidate makes an effort here, they can win.
Election recaps aside, I’m sure you are probably wondering, “OK, so how do these results show that progressive policies and candidates can win here on the Shore?”
In down-ballot races, the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus has worked hard to help elect 12 progressives on the Lower Shore in just three cycles. We were also able to help turn out the vote for the Biden-Harris ticket and have vastly increased Democratic turnout by highlighting the more progressive aspects of the Democratic Party’s platform. Progressive policies such as the “Fight For 15,” marijuana legalization, environmental protection, green energy initiatives, and guaranteed universal health care via “Medicare for All” are not only popular policies, but also a winning message here.
For decades, resources and manpower have been taken away from the Eastern Shore and sent to other races that are either solid blue or out-of-state. This divestment has caused the Republican Party to gain the upper hand in many communities and left Democrats organizing on the bare minimum. The effects of this are shown by the election of right-wing radicals such as Andy Harris, Mary Beth Carroza, and Nicole Acle. For us on the Shore to continue to build on the successes of 2020 and our down-ballot wins, we need sustained investment to ensure we can afford what we need to compete across the board in 2022.
To learn more about the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus, go to https://www.lowershoreprogressives.com/
Jared Shablein is the Chair of the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
