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Brenda Wintrode

Brenda

Brenda Wintrode covers Maryland politics and government, focusing on Maryland’s congressional delegation. She has been with The Baltimore Banner since its launch in 2022 and has taken on a wide range of topics, including the governor, the state legislature, elections, cannabis policy and the youth legal system. Before coming to The Banner, she completed a fellowship with Wisconsin Watch, writing a series of investigations into wrongful child abuse allegations made in multiple states by the same pediatrician. Barbara has a bachelor’s of science in business administration from Bryant University in Rhode Island. After a career switch, she earned a graduate degree from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, where she was named outstanding master’s student in December 2020.

The latest from Brenda Wintrode

The day that changed their lives forever
Seven Marylanders describe how the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed their lives.
Smoke billows from the Pentagon.
Fate of thousands of Marylanders from El Salvador uncertain as Trump mulls pulling protection
More than 170,000 Salvadorans, including thousands in Maryland, face an uncertain future as the U.S. considers ending a protection they have relied on for decades. The latest extension is set to expire Wednesday.
A sizable group of people protest outside of the District Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland on April 4, 2025 for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a man who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration.
How the political climate Andy Harris helped create has come for him
The far-right Republican leader has twice dodged redistricting attempts. He may not be so lucky a third time.
U.S. Rep. Andy Harris attends the first day of the General Assembly session in the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Md. on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
Governor candidates Wes Moore and Dan Cox will meet in October debate
The candidates will face off on Maryland Public Television on Oct. 6.
Maryland voters will get another debate-stage matchup between Dan Cox and Wes Moore ahead of their November rematch.
Maryland scrambles for answers after surge in immigrant arrests
A recent surge in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests across the region has left Maryland officials and local community members scrambling for answers.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 28: ICE agents stand guard outside of the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall, where ICE is housing detained immigrants, on May 28, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. The ongoing protests, which became tense over the holiday weekend, come amid reports of a hunger strike by detainees.
Judge blocks Maryland redistricting question from November ballot
Judge Robert Thompson ruled that lawmakers violated their own deadlines for ballot measures.
An Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge ruled that Maryland lawmakers missed their own deadline to approve a ballot question on redistricting.
Moore criticizes federal immigration enforcement surge in Maryland
The governor stated he supports deporting violent criminals for the sake of public safety but said the agency was spreading fear within communities.
FILE - A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer listens during a briefing, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md.
Judge blocks Trump plan for new FBI headquarters in Washington, clearing path for Greenbelt
Plans to relocate the FBI’s headquarters to Greenbelt can move forward after a federal judge, siding with Prince George’s County and the state of Maryland, blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to move the agency to an existing building in Washington.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown speaks at a press conference last year announcing that Maryland will sue the Trump administration for blocking an approved plan to move the FBI headquarters to Greenbelt.
Maryland Republicans file lawsuit to stop redistricting ballot question
Republican lawmakers are suing the state’s elections board to stop a ballot question on congressional redistricting from appearing before Maryland voters in November.
Del. Kathy Szeliga, a Baltimore County Republican and vice chair of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, speaks during a press conference hosted by the caucus in Annapolis on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
Maryland voters will decide future of redistricting. Here’s what’s next.
The amendment temporarily resolves Maryland’s participation in the national redistricting tug-of-war between red and blue states that are hoping to influence control of Congress.
Maryland senators wrapped up work on a bill Tuesday that would ask voters to amend the constitution to allow congressional gerrymandering.
Maryland lawmakers approve redistricting amendment that now heads to voters in November
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2026 - Del. David Moon, the House majority leader, and Del. Jason Buckel, the House minority leader, confer during debate on a bill in the House of Delegates that would change the state constitution to make it easier to redistrict in the future on Tuesday.
Maryland lawmakers move closer to changing congressional redistricting rules
If the measure passes the General Assembly, voters will have a say on the November ballot.
Senate President Bill Ferguson, House of Delegates Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Del. David Moon take their seats before a hearing on a measure to change Maryland’s constitution to make congressional redistricting easier.
Who paid the price in Maryland’s redistricting clash?
Redistricting has damaged relationships and consumed time and energy in Annapolis this year. Monday’s special session is a compromise to take a step forward.
Lawmakers will lay the groundwork for future congressional redistricting in a special session starting Monday.
Maryland Democrats settle for less after bitter redistricting fight
Lawmakers are holding a special session on redistricting, but it’s too late to affect Trump’s agenda.
From left, Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Gov. Wes Moore and Senate President Bill Ferguson all took different views of congressional redistricting over the past year, but they all ultimately ended up at the same place: revising the state constitution to make map-drawing easier going forward.
Mail ballot mishap that irked Trump ‘fixed’ ahead of fall election, company says
Taylor Print & Visual Impressions, the company responsible for a Maryland mail ballot printing error that led to the reissue of about 447,000 ballots, assured state election officials that new safeguards and procedures have been implemented.
A board of elections worker prepares to feed mail-in ballots into a machine for counting during canvassing at the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
The Freedom Caucus wants to remake Maryland’s GOP, one primary at a time
Freedom Caucus success can take different forms depending on which party is in charge, said Matthew Green, a politics professor at The Catholic University of America, who has studied the caucuses’ spread across the country.
Del. Kathy Szeliga holds an impromptu press conference with other members of the Maryland Freedom Caucus at the Maryland State House on Sine Die in Annapolis, Md. on Monday, April 7, 2025. To her side are Dels. Matt Morgan, Brian Chisolm and Mark Fisher.
After ballot errors, Maryland’s election board wants answers from vendor
The Minnesota-based vendor sent some voters ballots for the wrong party and wasn’t able to determine which voters were affected.
Baltimore County elections workers count mail ballots in Owings Mills last month.
Bobby LaPin lost the race. He’s not ready to leave the fight.
LaPin’s grassroots challenge, waged on Baltimore’s front stoops and Instagram feeds, was no match for a 16-year veteran politician with a war chest and battle-worn relationships.
Bobby LaPin knocks on doors in South Baltimore earlier this month. LaPin says he’s inspired by voters who said he gave them hope.
Democrat Dan Schwartz to face GOP’s Andy Harris in Maryland’s 1st District race
The former consumer-rights advocate will take on Maryland’s only GOP representative in Congress, who is also the chair of the House Freedom Caucus.
U.S. Rep. Andy Harris speaks during a press conference hosted by the Maryland Maryland Freedom Caucus in Annapolis on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. Harris is the only Republican member of Congress from Maryland and chairs the U.S. House Freedom Caucus.
McClain Delaney defeats Trone in Democratic primary for 6th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney stopped businessman David Trone’s attempt to win back the seat he previously held representing parts of Montgomery County and Western Maryland.
April McClain Delaney thanks her supporters at a Gaithersburg Holiday Inn on Tuesday night, less than an hour before hearing the official word that she had won the race.
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