Election season 2020 is getting into full swing, and we’re excited that there has been a surge in Republican women running for public office. Here at FFL, we like to celebrate the conservative women running for office and give our readers and their potential voters a look at what they stand for. 

In 2019, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings passed away while in office. Governor Larry Hogan announced that a special election primary for that seat would be held on February 4, 2020 and a special general election will be held on April 28, 2020. Whomever wins that seat will hold it until Cumming’s term is up in January. Then, they can run for the seat in November 2020 as well. Essentially, the seat is up for election this year, but they are also looking for someone to fill in until the general election in November. Both Republican women who are running in that district, District Seven, are running in the special primary as well as the general primary. 

The filing date for the congressional races for 2020 in Maryland recently passed. There are six women running for the House of Representatives. Maryland will host Congressional primaries on April 28, 2020 and the general election on November 3, 2020. 

Here’s what you need to know about these six women.

Genevieve Morris (MD-02)

Genevieve Morris is a Maryland resident with a bent towards public service–she holds an undergraduate teaching degree and has worked in non-profits. She supports healthcare reform but acknowledges that repealing the Affordable Care Act would have repercussions for many. As someone who worked for the Dept of Veterans Affairs, she supports VA reform. She supports being ‘good stewards of our natural resources’ and working to curb climate change when we can. She also acknowledges issues with the immigration system but opposes blaming immigrants for all of the issues facing our country. 

Reba Hawkins (MD-03)

Hawkins was initially running in the special election for District 7, but withdrew in January to run in District 3. Reba Hawkins says she has had a lifelong interest in politics–since living in DC during the Civil Rights Era. She helped start the grassroots organization BUILD. Hawkins has testified in front of the state legislature in support of a variety of things, including a living wage. She’s worked to help kids battling obesity, began a janitorial service that employed many youth, veterans, and returning inmates. On the issues, she supports micro-credit initiatives, supports families and the unborn, and wants to empower the University of Maryland system in a way that helps reduce student loan debt statewide.

Kim Klacik (MD-07)

Klacik is a current member of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee. She is the founder of “Potential Me” which helps under-served women grow in the workforce. On the issues, she supports school choice, believes civics and economics should be mandatory courses, supports free birth control in order to limit abortions, and supports job growth that will allow families to thrive in Baltimore County.

Liz Matory (MD-07)

Liz Matory is not your typical Republican candidate. In fact, she admits she never thought she’d be a Trump supporter. She was the first black woman Congressional candidate nominated by the Republican party in Maryland, and is also of Asian American descent. She’s also got an impressive educational background (Sidwell Friends, Howard, law school, and business school). Sometime after running for the state delegation as a Democrat and campaigning for other Democrats, she realized she was actually conservative. On the issues, she is pro-life, supports conservatism not communism, and supports repealing the death tax. Furthermore, she supports the 2nd Amendment and Voter ID laws. 

Bridgette Cooper (MD-08)

Not much information is currently available on Cooper’s 2020 platform. The campaign account on Twitter had not been recently updated, and listed campaign websites were not functional. She is currently on Instagram @Cooper4Congress and was posting about running in this race in late January. According to information Cooper gave when she ran previously, she has a musical background and her top three priorities if elected would be family/community programs, excellence in education, and veterans rights. In a 2018 piece, Cooper said that, “one of the most significant differences that I will bring to Washington is my innate ability to relate to all people.”

Patricia Rogers (MD-08)

No information was currently available on Patricia Rogers as of the publication of this article. No campaign website or social media accounts could be found. 

Aryssa D
FFL Cabinet Member