State Senate candidate questions rabbis’ push to vote in Baltimore primary

A candidate in a contested West Baltimore state Senate race is raising concerns about the leadership of a Baltimore-area rabbi group urging people to choose a political party and vote in the June 23 primary.

Del. Malcolm Ruff said he believes the effort is meant to turn out votes for his opponent in the Senate District 41 primary, Sen. Dalya Attar.

The race was upended in October when Attar, her brother and a Baltimore Police officer were indicted on federal extortion charges. Prosecutors say the three tried to blackmail a former campaign consultant, covertly recording the woman in bed with a married man and threatening to share the tape with the consultant’s family.

Attar pleaded not guilty to the charges and continues to serve while awaiting trial.

The plea from Vaad Harabbonim declares the primary “an absolutely critical moment for our community.” It urges all eligible voters — including anyone turning 18 by Nov. 3 — to ensure they are registered ahead of Maryland’s primary election deadline.

Maryland has a closed primary, meaning only voters registered with a political party can participate. Legislative primary races can be decided by a few hundred votes.

The statement, which appeared in The Baltimore Scoop, an online publication covering the region’s Jewish community, does not suggest which party people should register with, nor does it specify races to vote in.

“Please don’t let your vote go to waste,” the organization concludes, providing the address of a state election website where voters can change their party registration.

But Ruff criticized the effort.

“Encouraging voters to switch parties sends the message that the leaders of the orthodox community are resolute in trying to elect a federally indicted legislator by any means necessary, despite her criminal charges being a complete embarrassment to District 41,” Ruff wrote in a statement.

Although most Jewish people in the United States are Reform or unaffiliated, the Baltimore region has a sizable Orthodox and Conservative population.

Orthodox Judaism typically observes a stricter set of customs and laws than other branches.

“Supporting Dalya Attar sends the message that values don’t matter, only access,” Ruff wrote.

Messages to Vaad Harabbonim, its president, Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer, and its national organization were not returned. Neither Attar nor her attorney could be reached for comment.

Howard Libit, president of the Baltimore Jewish Council, said the recent push from Vaad Harabbonim is not unusual, though he did not know about that specific group’s past efforts. Similar pushes within the Jewish community have ”been going on for years before in lots of elections," he said, such as when City Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer was running and when Attar was seeking a House of Delegates seat.

“I think it’s just you’re seeing it maybe a little more out there because it’s on social media,” he said.

These pushes are the result of Maryland’s closed primary system and because, in many areas of the state, the winner of the primary is essentially the winner of the election, Libit said.

“There’s great attention paid to making sure if you wanna have a voice to register in that particular political party for the primary,” he said. The online back-and-forth over the race has raised the “specter of antisemitism,” Libit said.

Attar became the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve in the Senate after she was picked over Ruff to fill a vacancy in January 2025. The district covers Northwest, West and Southwest Baltimore, which includes both Black and Jewish neighborhoods.

Black people represent 63% of the population in the 41st District, according to data compiled by Census Reporter. Census Reporter does not record religious affiliation data.

“The math doesn’t work for them in general,” said Dayvon Love, a Ruff supporter and director of public policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle. “So they need to do something to inflate their numbers in order to get a better path toward victory.”

Although many religious groups’ nonprofit tax status means they aren’t allowed to advocate for specific candidates, spiritual leaders often encourage their congregations to participate in the process.

Former state Sen. Jill Carter said she was troubled by the request of Vaad Harabbonim.

“While faith leaders have every right to participate in public discourse,” she said, “the public also has a right to question whether urging voters to change party affiliations for strategic political purposes is consistent with the principles those institutions claim to uphold.”

There is at least one local group encouraging voters to strategically change their party registration.

In Harford County, the teachers union urged its Democratic members to change their party affiliation to impact the Republican county executive primary.

Maryland voter registration data doesn’t provide evidence of those efforts having much effect. Democratic and Republican registration was largely unchanged between the primary and general elections in 2022 and 2024. But independent registrations surged — comprising roughly 90% of voters added between the primary and general elections those years.