Candidates were asked to respond by 5:00 PM ET on Friday, September 25, 2026. The summary table shows each candidate's position. Where a candidate provided a written explanation, their full response appears verbatim below the table. "No response" means no reply had been received when this page was last updated. Non-response is not characterized as agreement or disagreement with the pledge. Candidates may respond at any time after the deadline; later replies will be added with their receipt dates.
Summary of Responses
| Candidate | Office | Incumbent | Pledge | Party | Contacted |
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Candidates may respond at any time to pledges@mdcandidatepledges.org.
Why I Proposed the Maryland Sales Tax Pledge
Maryland is approaching difficult budget decisions. The Department of Legislative Services projects a structural deficit of nearly $2.6 billion for fiscal 2028, meaning the state's recurring spending commitments exceed its recurring revenues by that amount under current law.
The General Assembly created these commitments. I proposed this pledge because the General Assembly should address them before asking residents to pay higher taxes.
The Blueprint for Maryland's Future is the largest single driver. It established long-term state and local education spending mandates that account for a substantial share of the projected gap. Those mandates deserve evaluation against both the revenues available to sustain them and the educational results they have produced so far. Maryland's fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress remained below 2019 levels. Spending mandates that are not producing measurable improvement warrant the same scrutiny the General Assembly would apply to any other program.
My proposal asks candidates to state an order of responsibility: before voting to increase the general sales tax, they would first require the General Assembly to enact reductions in recurring spending commitments sufficient, under the official forecast then in effect, to eliminate the projected structural deficit. The pledge does not specify which programs to reduce. It does not prevent a candidate from explaining a different approach. It asks for a public answer to a straightforward question about fiscal priorities.
Amy supports the proposal and has signed it. Her campaign is sending the same question to every candidate for the General Assembly and will publish their responses in their own words at mdcandidatepledges.org/sales-tax. Readers can assess the pledge, the candidates' answers, and the fiscal evidence for themselves.
This explanation accompanies a candidate inquiry distributed by Citizens for Amy Leahy. Amy Leahy is a candidate for Maryland Senate, District 33, and my wife. Although this piece reflects my own views and experience, it is published under the campaign's authority line as a matter of compliance caution, not because the campaign directed its content.