Maryland’s $1,400,000,000 Deficit The ‘Inevitable Result Of One-Party Rule,’ Lawmakers Say

Maryland is staring down a budget deficit of about $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2027, according to budget projections released on Wednesday.

The newly released estimates from Maryland’s Department of Legislative Services (DLS) show that the deep blue state is expected to have structural deficits of $753 million in 2025, $259 million in 2026 and almost $1.2 billion in 2027. State lawmakers had previously projected a $321 million surplus for the start of fiscal year 2027 after finalizing the budget process when the 2025 legislative session ended, The Daily Record reported on Wednesday.

Maryland Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr., a Republican, said that the state’s looming budget crisis was created “by reckless spending, failed leadership and political posturing,” The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Hershey also asserted that he thinks Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — a likely 2028 presidential candidate — has become “overly consumed with national politics” instead of addressing the state’s budget shortfall, per the Washington Post.

“Instead of confronting the state’s looming multibillion-dollar deficit, the governor is consumed with national politics and partisan redistricting schemes,” Hershey said. “This is the inevitable result of one-party rule, where accountability disappears and fiscal reality takes a back seat to ambition.”

In addition to holding the governor’s mansion and all statewide offices, Democrats also hold supermajorities in both houses of the Maryland legislature, controlling more than 70% of seats in each chamber.

Moore’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

The new budgetary projections come after Maryland state lawmakers reached a budget deal in April which included $1.6 billion in new taxes while also cutting government spending, the Baltimore Banner reported on April 4.

“The outlook is a lot worse for fiscal [year] 27 than it was at the end of session,” David Romans, DLS’ fiscal and policy analysis coordinator, said on Wednesday, WBFF reported. “It’s about a billion and a half deficit versus a projected small surplus when we ended [the] session.”

Romans claimed that Maryland’s general fund revenues have been negatively impacted by President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Trump signed the sweeping tax and spending bill into law on July 4.

“Bottom line is, it was assumed at the end of session that we would get that additional $300 million a year in general fund revenues from the One Big Beautiful Bill being passed,” Romans said, according to WBFF. “We actually ended up with a negative impact of about $71 million in fiscal [year] 27. It’s a $371 million swing.”

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, said in a statement that “the highest and best use of the General Assembly’s time is keeping Maryland on strong fiscal footing by lowering costs for Maryland families and addressing the $1.4 billion structural deficit so we can meet our constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget next session,” the Washington Post reported.

Moore notably suggested in August that Maryland may redraw its congressional maps mid-decade in an attempt to target Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who is the only GOP member in the state’s congressional delegation. Still, some prominent Democrats have recently been ramping up pressure on Maryland state lawmakers to back Moore’s redistricting push, Politico reported on Monday.

Ferguson has publicly indicated opposition to Moore’s redistricting initiative, writing in an Oct. 28 letter to Maryland senators that the “downside risk to Democrats” would be “catastrophic.”

“Despite deeply shared frustrations about the state of our country, mid-cycle redistricting for Maryland presents a reality where the legal risks are too high, the timeline for action is dangerous, the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic, and the certainty of our existing map would be undermined,” Ferguson wrote in the letter.