Maryland Democrats celebrate party wins, but Trump and GOP Congress are never far off
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) was a special guest speaker at the 2025 Maryland Democratic Party Gala on Thursday. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters).
It was a celebration of Maryland Democrats and their victories over the past year, but the specter of President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress was never far off.
With fancy gowns, sharp suits and drinks in hand, several hundred Maryland Democratic politicians, advocates and donors gathered Thursday at Martin's West and tried to find the light in their uphill battle against the Trump White House and the Republican majority in Congress.
But in three hours of speeches, nearly every speaker stressed that the fight against Trump's administration needs to continue — even if the challenges seem insurmountable. That included the evening's keynote speaker, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), a one-time pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore.
'We will not give in to those who are trying to weaponize fear and despair,' Warnock told the crowd. 'We will not be intimidated into silence. We must raise our voices now more than ever.
'We are not going to give in to the rhetoric … of those who are trying to divide us. People who have no vision,' he said. 'They don't know how to lead us, so they are trying to divide us.'
During the evening, Democratic leaders aired a wide range of grievances against the Trump administration's actions over the last five months — from mass layoffs of federal workers to the 'erroneous' deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to massive proposed budget cuts for programs such as Medicaid.
While much of the evening served as a rallying cry to push back against Republicans in Congress, the evening also functioned as a farewell event to the outgoing Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman, who will officially resign from the position Friday.
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Ulman said he was proud of what was accomplished in the time since he took over as chair in 2023.
'We've been busy the last couple of years. What did we do? In 2024, we won some elections. We won some big elections,' Ulman said. 'We kept our margin in the federal delegation. Angela Alsobrooks beat Larry Hogan – it took 10 years, we got him.'
He was referring to the election of U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D) against former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R).
Ulman also recognized wins by Democratic freshman Reps. Johnny Olszewski Jr. (2nd), Sarah Elfreth (3rd) and April McClain Delaney (6th), and he celebrated the party's hand in staving off several school board candidates — normally nonpartisan elections — who were politically aligned with the conservative group Moms for Liberty.
But always it came back to the Trump administration. Democrats promised to fight back against what Alsobrooks called 'a horrible time' in America.
'We must understand in this moment that we have to fight back with everything within us, because we are not only harming ourselves here at home, but our image across the world is at stake,' Alsobrooks told the gala. 'What a horrible time it is for our country.'
Many of their comments centered around the budget reconciliation bill known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which aims to reduce federal spending by drastically cutting funds to programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps.
In a live recording of the Maryland Democratic Party's new podcast, called 'Burn the Talking Points,' Maryland's freshman House members were asked to describe the Big Beautiful Bill in one word.
Olszewski said the bill was 'ugly,' Elfreth called the legislation 'an abomination,' while McClain Delaney simply called it 'mean.'
Also speaking Thursday were Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th), as well as Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman, and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) ended the evening with his usual bright message of encouragement for the years ahead under the Trump administration.
'As Sen. Warnock said, these are challenging times. No one can deny it,' he said, adding that he hoped to see Maryland take charge in pushing back against Trump and the Republicans.
'There is something that no one can deny. Maryland is showing that we can do different. That inside this moment, we have to be able to call out injustices,' Moore said. 'And we have to be able to call out the atrocities that we are seeing from this administration.
'But we also have to be very clear that calling out the atrocities will not be enough — we have to show what an alternative can actually be,' he said.
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