Maryland voters will elect the next state comptroller and attorney general on Nov. 3. Incumbent Democrat Brooke Lierman is seeking reelection as comptroller, challenged by Republican nominee Sonya Dunn. Democrat Anthony Brown is also running for reelection as attorney general, facing Republican candidate James Rutledge.
After winning the election in 2022, Lierman became Maryland’s first female comptroller. Before that, she practiced civil and disability rights law and served eight years in the House of Delegates, representing Baltimore’s 46th district.
Her opponent is Dunn, a businesswoman and former military journalist with experience in risk management, public finance and strategic planning. She advocates for Maryland families, veterans, seniors, workers and small businesses.
The next state comptroller of Maryland will serve as the state’s chief financial officer, overseeing tax collection and general accounting to manage state finances and enforce tax laws.
Brown, an Army veteran and politician, was also elected in 2022 to serve as the state’s attorney general. He previously represented Prince George’s County in the House of Delegates, served as lieutenant governor and served in Congress.
Opposing him is Rutledge, a Harford County attorney with more than four decades of legal practice. He previously served as the Bel Air commissioner and was appointed by former Gov. Larry Hogan to the Harford County Judicial Nominating Commission.
The attorney general is the state’s chief legal officer, advising state agencies and enforcing state laws. They also act as the state’s lead prosecutor, representing it in state and federal court cases.
Brooke Lierman campaign
Lierman first sought the comptroller’s office to reform a system she believed drove up costs for Maryland families, failed to support small businesses and worked against people struggling to pay rent.
As the current comptroller, Lierman is committed to making Maryland a more affordable state to live in and conducts proactive outreach to support those in need. She currently serves on the Board of Public Works and is working to close the wealth gap to ensure economic prosperity throughout Maryland.
Lierman announced a free tax-filing service through the federal Direct File program for more than 700,000 Marylanders, focusing on low- and middle-income workers. The service began in 2025.
Most recently, she urged energy companies to issue credits to ratepayers after the Supreme Court ruled that the companies are tax-exempt based on the equipment they use. This required the state to refund more than $250 million in taxes collected from the electric companies.
“While I respectfully disagree with the court’s interpretation of Maryland’s tax law, we will follow the law and issue the refunds required by the court’s decision,” Lierman said in a press release. “Therefore, this money that is a refund of taxes paid, and interest paid on those taxes, belongs to ratepayers.”
She is working to modernize the comptroller’s office by moving its systems to the cloud, while promoting transparency. Recently, she launched an online resource that offers interactive insights into the state’s spending and overall economy, updated quarterly.
“As your comptroller, I am committed to unlocking the potential of the office to build communities around the state that are more equitable, more resilient and more prosperous,” her campaign site read.
Sonya Dunn campaign
Dunn believes Maryland taxpayers, from families to small business owners, have been asked to pay too much while receiving too little from their government. She is running for comptroller to put people first, promote transparency and protect taxpayers by ensuring their money is managed responsibly.
She believes her background in business, operations and procurement management, along with her experience in government agencies, gives her the knowledge to effectively manage the state’s finances while promoting transparency and protecting resources.
Dunn aims to rebuild trust in Maryland’s finances by serving as an independent watchdog against waste, fraud and tax abuse, ensuring taxpayer dollars are used wisely.
One way she plans to do this is to focus on long-term financial planning instead of short-term gains that can lead to higher taxes, deficits and public scrutiny.
Long-term solutions she would focus on include developing Maryland’s economy by growing its workforce and creating opportunities that promote competitiveness.
“As your next comptroller, I am willing to roll up my sleeves, get under the hood and fix problems in Maryland’s public finances at the state, county and local levels,” Dunn’s campaign site reads.
Anthony Brown campaign
As the current attorney general, Brown champions justice, equality and protections for the rights and freedoms of all Marylanders.
To address systemic inequalities, Brown established the Office of Equity, Policy and Engagement to develop strategies and initiatives that promote fairness in Maryland’s justice system.
His other efforts to advance equality and fairness include creating the Civil Rights Division, the Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention, and the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative — a joint initiative to reduce mass incarceration and address racial disparities in Maryland.
To ensure law enforcement accountability, Brown expanded the Independent Investigations Division’s authority to prosecute police officers responsible for fatalities.
Brown has also worked to protect older adults from fraud and abuse by cracking down on unlicensed senior homes and launching the PROTECT Week Campaign to educate seniors about financial scams and exploitation.
Recently, Brown joined a coalition challenging the Trump administration’s Medicaid work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The coalition secured a U.S. District Court ruling declaring the requirements unlawful. Maryland had estimated that about 150,000 residents could lose coverage under those requirements.
Brown’s campaign site read, “Every day, he brings his experience, passion and purpose to his work — to protect Marylanders, advance equity and build a state where justice truly works for all.”
James Rutledge campaign
Rutledge believes the attorney general should understand and defend the state constitution, while upholding the law equally for all Marylanders. With extensive experience as an attorney fighting abuses of power and protecting citizens every day, he believes he is the right candidate.
As a Bel Air commissioner, Rutledge supported historic preservation, passed legislation to prevent school overcrowding and secured funding for a sewage system upgrade to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Rutledge also has fought to protect farmland from power companies seeking to buy land for transmission lines.
He views law and order as essential to safety and prosperity, arguing that rising electricity bills are driving up living costs while crime increases under the current government.
“And just when we think it can’t get any worse, the General Assembly divorced Maryland from law enforcement. They have declared Maryland a safe haven for lawbreakers, putting Marylanders at risk,” he said in an ad campaign video.
Proponents of the Community Trust Act passed the legislation to build community trust, ensuring that undocumented immigrants would not fear reporting crimes, going to work or cooperating with police investigations out of a fear of deportation
If elected, Rutledge said he would aggressively pursue gang prosecutions and proactively protect Marylanders from cyber attackers.
Rutledge would also work to remove partisan politics from the attorney general’s office and promote collaboration to fight against crime. “When I do my job as your attorney general correctly, you won’t know what party I belong to.”
