Former city, state, and federal prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah announced Wednesday he is dropping out of the Democratic race for Baltimore mayor, and he is supporting former Mayor Sheila Dixon for the city’s top position, The Baltimore Sun reported.
Vignarajah’s late exit from the race comes just one day before the start of early voting, which runs May 2 to May 9, and less than two weeks before the May 14 primary election.
Recent polling shows a tight race between Dixon and incumbent Mayor Brandon Scott. Democratic candidates also include businessman Bob Wallace and school teacher Wendy Bozel, among others.
In an April poll by The Baltimore Sun, University of Baltimore, and Fox45, Scott was the favorite for 38% of likely voters, compared to 35% for Dixon, a gap within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. Vignarajah had the support of 10 percent of likely voters.
Vignarajah previously ran unsuccessfully for Baltimore mayor in 2020, and for Baltimore state’s attorney in 2017 and 2022.
A former deputy attorney general of Maryland, Vignarajah has worked as a litigation partner at the law firm DLA Piper.
He also has served as the lead attorney for the State of Maryland in appeals filed by the legal team of Adnan Syed. Syed, who was found guilty in the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, has maintained he is innocent and wrongfully convicted of Lee’s murder.
Vignarajah served as a spokesperson and provided pro bono legal representation for Baltimore residents in eight historic neighborhoods who challenged Baltimore Gas & Electric’s installation of gas regulators on the exterior of their properties.
Vignarajah made a splash during the current election season when he jumped into Baltimore’s harbor and pledged environmental improvements.
In interviews with Baltimore Fishbowl, Vignarajah said that if elected mayor he would privatize trash collection; revamp the city’s 311 dashboard; “dramatically increase fines” for illegal dumping; pledge new public art projects every four to six months with the aid of a “mural-matching program”; break the city’s contract with the Wheelabrator waste-to-energy incinerator; end tax sales for all owner-occupied properties; and incentivize developers to build for senior residents.
