Rushern Leslie Baker III (born October 24, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he was elected

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...

in 2010 and won re-election in 2014. In 2018 and 2022, he mounted an unsuccessful primary campaign to become

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

Early life and education

Baker was born in

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metr ...

, and grew up in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. Baker's father, a

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

who served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, mother, and 3 siblings lived on an Army base in

Okinawa, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

for a time before settling in Massachusetts. Baker recalls having learning struggles in school. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

in 1982 and 1986, respectively.

Career

Maryland House of Delegates

Baker represented legislative district 22B in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 1994 to 2003, where he served on various subcommittees and task forces. He also served as executive director for the Community Teachers Institute, located in

Lanham, Maryland Lanham is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census it had a population of 11,282. The New Carrollton station (the terminus of the Washington Metro's Orange Li ...

Prince George's County Executive

In 2002 and 2006, Baker ran unsuccessfully for the office of Prince George's County Executive. In 2006, he was narrowly defeated by the incumbent County Executive,

Jack B. Johnson Jack Bruce Johnson (born April 3, 1949) is a former American politician and lawyer. He was a Maryland state's attorney and was, from 2002 to 2010, the county executive of Prince George's County, Maryland. He was elected state's attorney in Novembe ...

in the primary election. In November 2010, Baker won the election to replace Johnson, who was term-limited. Baker was sworn in as County Executive on December 6, 2010. Baker served as President of County Executives of America from 2014 to 2015. He was named Public Official of the Year by

Governing Magazine ''Governing'' is a website, edited and published in Washington, D.C., that covers state and local government in the United States. Originally a national monthly magazine, it was published in print 1987 and 2019. It covers policy, politics, and the ...

in 2015. As County Executive, Baker led land and real estate purchases to move county agencies to

Largo, Maryland Largo, located within greater Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,605 at the 2020 census. Largo is located just east of the C ...

from the County Seat of

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...

2018 Maryland gubernatorial election campaign

On June 21, 2017, Baker announced his candidacy for Governor of Maryland in the 2018 election, currently held by

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...

(R). Baker's ticket included Baltimore attorne
Elizabeth Embry
He was endorsed by the

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, but lost the Democratic primary to Ben Jealous, 40 percent to 29 percent.

2022 Maryland gubernatorial election campaign

On April 8, 2021, Baker announced his candidacy for Governor of Maryland in the 2022 election, which will be vacated by Larry Hogan (R), who is term limited, in 2023. His running mate was Nancy Navarro, a member of the Montgomery County Council. He suspended his campaign on June 10, 2022.

Personal life

Baker met his wife, Christa Beverly, as an undergraduate at

in 1978. Baker is a member of Gamma Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, as is

who preceded Baker as County Executive prior to Johnson's arrest. The Bakers lived in Washington, D.C., briefly, before settling in Cheverly, MD, where they raised three children, including son Rushern Baker IV. In 2010, Baker's wife was diagnosed with

Early-onset Alzheimer's disease Early-onset Alzheimer's disease, also called younger-onset Alzheimer's, is Alzheimer's disease diagnosed before the age of 65. It is an uncommon form of Alzheimer's, accounting for only 5–10% of all Alzheimer's cases. About 60% have a positive ...

. The family decided to speak publicly about her diagnosis in 2012 in order to increase awareness for the disease and advocate for greater funding for medical research. Baker is an active member of the

Alzheimer's Association The Alzheimer's Association was founded by Jerome H. Stone with the help of several family members in Chicago, Illinois, and incorporated on April 10, 1980, as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. It is a non-profit Ame ...

. In 2021, Baker's wife Christa died due to Alzheimer's disease.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website

Government website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Rushern L. III 1958 births 20th-century African-American politicians African-American men in politics 20th-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians African-American lawyers African-American state legislators in Maryland Howard University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates People from Valdosta, Georgia Prince George's County, Maryland Executives