Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates is claiming Mayor Brandon Scott endorsed him for reelection, according to a poster board featuring a list of Bates’ endorsers on display at a Mount Vernon campaign fundraiser Monday night.

However, the Scott campaign — after initially declining to comment on the record — said Bates’ proclamation of endorsement is premature..

“While we were approached for an endorsement and indicated that further discussions are necessary, the mayor has not officially endorsed the state’s attorney,” said Scott campaign spokesman Bryan Doherty. “We look forward to continuing those conversations over the coming weeks.”

It’s unclear why Bates’ campaign put Scott’s name on a display endorsements at the Sammy’s Trattoria campaign kickoff event. A spokesperson for Bates did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday. Other names on the board included Democrats like Gov. Wes Moore, both U.S. senators, Rep. Kweisi Mfume and a handful of state lawmakers.

It shouldn’t, and usually wouldn’t, be news that Baltimore’s sitting mayor endorsed the sitting state’s attorney. They’re both Democrats and the city’s murder rate is trending towards an all-time low.

Throw in the fact that Bates doesn’t even have a challenger, and, really, a Scott endorsement should be a nothingburger.

But it’s not.

Three months ago, it seemed Scott and Bates were really, truly on the rocks. There were concerns about whether their staffs could work together. Bates threatened to sue the city. Things were so dicey that civic leaders, elected and not, tried to de-escalate the situation.

Later, in a January profile published in The Banner, the state’s attorney compared the mayor’s hallmark public safety office to his young daughter. Bates also declined to entirely rule out a run for mayor in 2028, acknowledging that there were people who wanted to see him in City Hall over Scott.

Scott has said he’ll seek a third term in 2028.

Things have apparently calmed since. Should Scott endorse Bates, it would signal a political detente in a relationship that’s often been fraught.

The two men haven’t seen eye to eye on public safety since Bates won his primary election in 2022. Their fights have ranged from claims of deception and secrecy to petty back-and-forths over who is the Lamar Jackson of Baltimore’s crime-fighting effort.

Past endorsements have been a sore spot. In 2024, Bates endorsed former Mayor Sheila Dixon’s primary challenge against Scott.

“The more I began to have conversations with the mayor, it was clear that he wanted the policies of my predecessor,” Bates said at the time, referring to former State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Bates then went on to appear in television ads with Dixon.

The two men eventually brokered a peace with the help of famed Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy and released a joint statement.

“Our frank discussion allowed us to lay a foundation for what we believe will be a more effective partnership moving forward,” that statement said.

Bates and Scott seem to have quelled their animosity for now. It remains to be seen if it will last through the next election cycle — or even next month.