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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

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.
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.
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.
Judge rejects Trump administration effort to obtain Maryland voter rolls
Federal judges have dismissed cases similar to Maryland’s in Michigan, California, Oregon and Massachusetts, among others.
The Department of Justice requested the private lists from dozens of states and Washington, D.C., and sued those that refused to comply.
Van Hollen ‘kicking the tires’ on a 2028 presidential run
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen has spent the last year and a half raising his national profile.
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland speaks to a resident at the Polk County Streak Fry, held by the Polk County Democrats, at Water Works Park in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, September 13, 2025.
Terminated by Trump, Maryland federal workers are running for new jobs
Who better to run government, they say, than the people who really understand the nuts and bolts of it.
The candidates hail from the FBI, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Institutes of Health. They’ve represented America overseas as diplomats and on disaster response teams, and aided in historic criminal investigations, including of President Donald Trump.
How Gov. Moore’s open primary remarks landed in Maryland
Gov. Wes Moore’s comments on open primaries sparked excitement among reform advocates in Maryland, but his office later said he supports the state’s closed system, highlighting the debate over unaffiliated voters.
Baltimore residents cast their votes inside the polling location at Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
Views on Maryland’s mail ballot error are as partisan as elections themselves
Maryland’s mix-up has fueled existing bipartisan tensions over a voting method that has become as politicized as the candidates printed on the ballot.
Mail-in ballots are sorted for counting during canvassing at the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
Moore won’t sign immigration bills, but lets them become law
Gov. Wes Moore will allow two controversial immigration bills to become law without his signature, according to a statement from his office.
Gov. Wes Moore speaks before signing Senate Bill 245 and House Bill 444 in February, ending Maryland’s 287(g) program, which deputized local law enforcement officers to act as federal immigration agents.
How to make sure your Maryland mail ballot gets counted
Some people might be confused about how to make sure their ballot counts for the June 23rd primary, so let’s take this step-by-step.
Mail-in ballots are sorted for counting during canvassing at the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
Maryland’s 6th District candidates bicker about fortunes as voters worry about costs
David Trone has loaned himself $10 million for this race while April McClain Delaney has loaned her campaign $2.2 million.
Rep. David Trone, left, in 2024; Rep. April McClain Delaney in 2025.
What to know about Maryland’s mail ballot mix-up
The board of elections instructed affected Maryland voters to throw away their first ballot and its return envelope. They are sending a new ballot and return envelope.
Mail-in ballots are sorted for counting during canvassing at the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
Maryland will reissue 400,000 mail ballots after voters reported errors
Some Maryland residents received ballots for the wrong party. The vendor will pay to replace ballots ahead of the June 23 primary.
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.
Chris Van Hollen, Kash Patel committee showdown spills onto social media
A heated Senate hearing between U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and FBI Director Kash Patel escalated onto social media after Van Hollen challenged Patel over reports of alcohol use and Patel fired back with personal attacks.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Kash Patel.
Maryland women want better menopause care. Lawmakers are listening.
The Maryland bill would encourage medical providers to learn about menopause and is part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness.
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