Local defense attorney and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Shea has tapped Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott to be his running mate in this June’s primary election.
A campaign spokeswoman confirmed to Baltimore Fishbowl Thursday night that Scott, currently serving his second term representing Baltimore’s 2nd district, would be officially announced as Shea’s running mate on Thursday.
Shea, who most recently served as chairman of Venable law firm until spring 2017, is one of eight candidates running in the Democratic primary to challenge Gov. Larry Hogan in the November election.
His competitors include former NAACP president Ben Jealous, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, Montgomery County state Sen. Richard Madaleno, tech entrepreneur Alec Ross, Michelle Obama’s former policy director Krish Vignarajah and perennial candidate Ralph Jaffe.
Jealous is the only other candidate so far to announce a running mate. He picked former Democratic National Committee vice chair Susan Turnbull to run with him for lieutenant governor in November 2017.
Shea and Scott made the announcement official at a press conference Thursday afternoon at the Old Line Spirits distillery in Southeast Baltimore.
“Brandon’s energy, passion, and empathy are apparent to anyone who meets him, and he confronts tough problems head-on with courage and integrity,” Shea said in a statement. “There has been no better champion for Baltimore, and when he is Lt. Governor, he will be an even greater champion for all of Maryland.”
Scott, who chairs the city council’s public safety committee, said in a statement that he’s running for state office “because our city and our state both need help. I think I can do more, and I’m excited to work with Jim Shea to bring a fresh perspective and new leadership to Maryland.”
This story has been updated.
Wonder what the end game really is for attorney Shea, in terms of running for Governor ? My generation of voters are quite use to
(Don’t have a snow ball chance ) folks filing to run for (beyond their reach) offices. However, in recent years, the ridiculous is being
upstaged by the absurd.
Beyond, vampiring votes from a possible authentic candidate, the only benefit for actually running for these particular, beyond their
scope offices, would simply be Free publicity. Wonder how these two candidates get beyond the office cooler jokes this situation
fuels?