Thomas McLain "Mac" Middleton (born September 1, 1945) is an American politician from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and 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 served in the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

from 1995 to 2019, representing Maryland's District 28 in southern Charles County.

Background

Middleton grew up in

La Plata, Maryland La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapm ...

and attended

Charles County Community College The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) is a public community college with campuses in Hughesville, La Plata, Leonardtown, and Prince Frederick, Maryland. It serves students living in Southern Maryland's Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert count ...

and

Mount St. Mary's College Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles (known as Mount St. Mary's College until January 2015) is a private, Catholic university primarily for women, in Los Angeles, California. Women make up ninety percent of the student body. It was found ...

before entering the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. After his service in the United States Army (1968–1971), Middleton became the owner and operator of Cedar Hill Farm near Waldorf, Maryland.

Political career

Middleton's political career began when he was appointed to a four-year term on the Charles County Planning Commission. In 1986, he became a member of the Charles County Commission, the local legislative body for the county. He won a seat in the State Senate in the 1994 election. Middleton was the Chair of the Senate's powerful Finance Committee. He was mentioned as a possible successor to then Senate President

Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. Thomas Vincent Miller Jr. (December 3, 1942 – January 15, 2021), known as Mike Miller, was an American politician from Maryland. He had been a state senator representing the 27th District ( Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties) from ...

In 2005 and 2006, he co-chaired the Special Committee on Employee Rights and Protections. This panel was reportedly created to investigate state government employment actions. The administration of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., criticized the effort as a "partisan witch hunt," and a minority report claimed that "the committee's 13-month investigation of the Ehrlich administration was unnecessary, expensive and fruitless." In 2018, Middleton was ousted in the Gubernatorial Primary Election held on June 26, by a 651-vote margin, by community activist, and CPA, Arthur Ellis, a self-described progressive Democrat.

Democratic Party activist

In February 2008, Middleton endorsed the candidacy of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

for president of the United States.

Legacy

In October 2018, Middleton's name was added to the

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

Potomac River bridge, making it officially the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge.

References

External links

* Democratic Party Maryland state senators Living people 1945 births United States Army soldiers People from La Plata, Maryland People from Waldorf, Maryland Mount St. Mary's University alumni 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians {{Maryland-politician-stub