The 2018 Maryland District 18 Democratic Primary Revisted [2022]

In 2018, the Maryland District 18 Democratic primary was one of the more spirited political contests.

Fast forward to 2022.

Some things change; some things stay the same.

The 2022 Maryland District 18 Democratic primary was rather – at least until the April 15 candidate filing deadline.

State Del. Al Carr decided to run for a Montgomery County Council seat at the last minute.

And by last-minute, April 15, the filing deadline.

Why did Carr wait until the last minute to decide?

How undemocratic can it get?

A group of partisan political insiders choosing (per state law) who will represent them for the next four years?

The process sucks; it’s unfair to voters.

Two District 18 Democrats made the trek to Annapolis that night, intent on filing to run for state delegate.

The 9:00 p.m. deadline came and went.

Now what?

With Al Carr out of the running, what happens now?

Maryland District 18 Process to fill the primary vacancy

The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee will choose a third District 18 Democratic candidate to compete in the July 19 primary.

The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee chooses Al Carr’s replacement.

The Democratic candidate the Central Committee chooses on April 19 is more than likely to win in November.

For fun, A Miner Detail in this article recalls the 2018 District 18 Democratic candidates and updates readers on what’s happening in 2022.

The 2018 Maryland District 18 Democratic primary candidates 

Al Carr 

In 2018, Al Carr was the only District 18 House incumbent to seek re-election.

Carr was the top voter earner in the 2018 Democratic primary. He went on to win re-election in November 2018.

But Carr is leaving the House of Delegates in 2023. He’s running for a County Council seat in District 4.

Leslie Milano 

Leslie Milano entered the District 18 Democratic primary in December 2017 and quickly emerged as one of the leading contenders.

Milano is one of 10 District 18 Democrats who has applied with the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee to fill the Democratic primary vacancy left by Al Carr.

She finished fourth in the June primary, earning just over 6500 votes or 14.2% of the votes cast.

Milano is a public health executive, the Montgomery County Democratic Women’s Club president, and a mother of two children.

Maryland District 18 Democratic candidate Leslie Milano on A Miner Detail Podcast 

You’ll recall that Maryland’s 2018 District 18 Democratic primary contest was highly competitive.

But Milano demonstrated quickly that she was to tackle complex healthcare and education issues if elected to serve.

Some of Milano’s campaign themes addressed:

• Economic growth.
• Bringing jobs back to District 18.
• Leveraging technology to address transportation issues.
• Increasing small businesses in the district.
• Maintaining fiscal responsibility.
• Workforce development training.
• Renewable energy solutions.

Milano’s 2018 endorsements include:

• The SEIU 500.
• The MCPS Retirees Association.
• Progressive Neighbors.
• Former Gov. Parris Glendening (D).
• Former Md. Democratic Party Chair Terry Lierman.
• A handful of Kensington Town Council members.

Milano’s background 

Milano grew up in the Philadelphia area.

In her ’20s, Milano co-founded “Educating for Justice,” a U.S.-based non-profit organization that developed, produced, and distributed justice-oriented programming and content to the educational marketplace.”

The organization set out to raise awareness of justice issues and spark social change.

In the summer of 2000, Milano spent a month in an Indonesian slum to bring attention to the poor living conditions experienced by Nike’s overseas laborers.

Milano shared her experience visiting an Indonesian slum in an online publication.

Some political insiders say Milano is the leading Democratic contender to fill the District 18 vacancy.

We’ll find out soon enough.

Emily Shetty and Jared Solomon 

Jared Solomon and Emily Shetty ran aggressive campaigns in 2018.

Emily Shetty ran for a District 18 state House seat in 2014 and placed fourth overall in the primary. The Washington Post endorsed her that year.

In 2018, Solomon and Shetty advanced to the November election and won.

Both Shetty and Solomon are running for re-election in 2022.

Mila Johns

In 2018, Mila Johns built a prolific social media presence and raised significant campaign cash.

District 18 residents admired Johns’ tenacity to face challenging policy issues without fear.

She placed 6th overall in the 2018 District 18 Democratic primary that year.

Joel Rubin

Joel Rubin is a Chevy Council council member.

Like Milano, Rubin also seeks the appointment to fill District 18 Democratic vacancy.

Will the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee choose Joel Rubin to fill the vacancy Al Carr left in the Maryland District 18 Democratic primary?

Rubin showed up last-minute at the state Board of Elections office the night of the filing deadline.

But Rubin ran out of time and couldn’t file candidacy paperwork.

Rubin finished fifth in the ’18 Democratic primary, 1360 votes behind Milano.

Helga Luest 

In 2018, Luest made waves when she publicly detailed an incident she had with Jeff Waldstreicher.

Luest blasted Waldstreicher for allegedly suggesting that she drop out of the District 18 state House primary.

She said Waldstreicher asked her to run for the District 18 state Senate seat.

Waldstreicher, Luest said, wanted her to help him defeat Dana Bayer in the contested District 18 Senate primary.

Luest placed last in the Democratic primary.

As for Waldstreicher, he defeated Dana Bayer and went on to win the District 18 state Senate seat that Rich Madaleno gave up to run for governor.

Ron Franks 

Do you remember candidate Ron Franks?

In ’18, Franks served as vice-chairman of the Mid-County Advisory Board and was a Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee member.

He placed second-to-last in the 2018 Maryland District 18 Democratic primary.

Maryland’s 2018 Democratic primary was held on June 26.