Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio

Maryland voters are set to go to the polls today to cast their ballots in primaries across the state.

Voting precincts open at 7 a.m. in Maryland and will close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Topping the ballot are the primary races for governor.

On the Democratic side Lt. Governor Anthony Brown has been leading in the polls against rivals Attorney General Doug Gansler and Delegate Heather Mizeur.

A Democrat has entered the race for the two-seat District 37B in Maryland’s House of Delegates.

Keasha Haythe is the only Democrat so far and decided to entered the race after Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio was running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Haythe told the Salisbury Daily Times that she would focus on three main issues: economic development education and the environment.

The district runs from Talbot County through Dorchester County.

It also included parts of Caroline and Wicomico Counties.

There’s another candidate in the race to replace Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio who is running for Lieutenant Governor with David Craig in the Republican primary.

His name is Christopher Adams from Hebron and is the first Wicomico County resident to enter the contest for the mid-Shore’s 37B district.

The Republican calls himself a citizen legislator who is not planning on making a career in Annapolis.

Adams says he began to consider a run for elective office when his family owned-business Value Carpet One got a citation from the state of Maryland.

St. Michaels businessman and congressional aide Johnny Mautz has entered the race for the House of Delegates for one of the two seats in District 37B on the Mid-Shore…and part of Wicomico County.

The Republican said he plans to unveil more details of his plans…once he formally launches his campaign.

But, he says, he will focus on issues like transportation and education and hopes to find ways to balance the state budget.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Republican David Craig has officially announced that Del. Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio will be his running mate in his bid for governor.

Haddaway-Riccio said Tuesday at a news conference in Annapolis that she has spent almost a decade as an Eastern Shore lawmaker fighting for lower taxes and a better business climate. She says she has also worked for a greater balance between environmental interests and the interests of agriculture and commercial fishing.

GOP

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A spokesman for Republican David Craig says the Harford County executive has chosen Del. Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio as his running mate in his run for governor.

Jim Pettit, Craig's campaign spokesman, confirmed the selection in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.

Pettit says two news conferences have been scheduled for Tuesday to announce her selection. One will be in the morning in Annapolis. The other will be in the afternoon in St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore.

Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio could soon be out as minority whip for the GOP in the General Assembly.

A meeting has been set for the end of April to look at a change in leadership after a recent executive session of House Republicans.

The Eastern Shore Republican would not comment on the closed-door meeting citing confidentiality.

But she along with Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell have been faced with the passage measures such as legalized same sex marriage and in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants.

Big numbers for his year’s oyster harvest and 300 new watermen on the Chesapeake Bay means state rationing of oyster tags to prevent them from completely running out.

The agency issues the tags at the beginning of the season in October based on the number a waterman used the previous season.

Those with no history get 200 tags.

The Salisbury Daily Times reports that Mike Naylor, director of the shellfish program for the Department of Natural Resources, says that when the harvest began getting bettermore people signed up.  

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland's House Republican leaders say they are troubled by the boating accident involving Delegate Don Dwyer, who has admitted he had been drinking before a collision that hospitalized six people, including the delegate.  

Delegate Anthony O'Donnell, the House minority leader, and Delegate Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, the minority whip, released a short joint statement on Friday about the accident, which happened Wednesday night on the Magothy River.