Eric Luedtke
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Eric Luedtke (born November 13, 1981) is an American politician and educator 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 ...
. From 2011 to 2023, he served 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, ...
, representing District 14 in Montgomery County, which includes parts of Burtonsville, Silver Spring, Olney,
Sandy Spring Sandy Spring is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Geography Sandy Spring's boundaries are roughly defined as Brooke Road and Dr. Bird Road to the north ...
, Brookeville, and
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
. Luedtke served as the House
Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.
from 2019 and 2023 and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, and as Chair of the Revenues Subcommittee. In November 2022, Governor-elect
Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, investment banker, author, and television producer. He is the governor-elect of Maryland, after defeating Republican Dan Cox in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial ele ...
named Luedtke as his chief legislative officer, a position he will assume on January 18, 2023.


Personal life

Luedtke was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, attending Thomas S. Wootton High School in
Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
and later the
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...
. He worked as a middle school social studies teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools from 2004-15. After becoming a teacher, he became involved with the Montgomery County Education Association, where he served on the Board of Directors. He also served on Montgomery County's East County Citizens Advisory Board, advocated on environmental issues with the local
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, and served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sandy Spring Museum. Following his election, he continued to work as a classroom teacher for a number of years prior to returning to his alma mater, the University of Maryland, first as an adjunct instructor and then as a clinical professor.


Political career

In the fall of 2009, Luedtke explored a run against incumbent State Senator
Rona E. Kramer Rona E. Kramer is an American politician from Maryland, a member of the Democratic Party, and a former member of the Maryland State Senate. She finished serving her 2nd term in the Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 14 in M ...
. He dropped out of the Senate race, but in early 2010 two seats in the House of Delegates became open when incumbent Delegate Karen S. Montgomery decided to challenge Kramer and Delegate Herman L. Taylor, Jr. began a campaign against Congresswoman
Donna Edwards Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the D ...
. Luedtke entered the campaign for one of the district's three seats in the House of Delegates, competing against seven other Democrats in the primary. In the primary election on September 14, 2010, Luedtke finished in third place, behind incumbent Delegate Anne Kaiser and political staffer
Craig Zucker Craig Jason Zucker (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician who has represented District 14 in the Maryland Senate since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from ...
. Democrats swept the general election in the district, winning the three Delegate seats as well as the Senate seat. Luedtke was sworn into the House of Delegates on January 12, 2011. During his first term in the House of Delegates, Luedtke was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy, education, election law, and gambling. He participated in debates on a number of major issues in his first year. During the floor debate on the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would have legalized same-sex marriage in Maryland, Luedtke helped defeat hostile amendments. He also played a role in passage of the Maryland Dream Act, giving undocumented immigrants the right to in state tuition at Maryland Universities. In that debate, he was quoted by the Baltimore Sun as arguing that, "We are talking about children. They didn't make the decision to cross the border," and therefore should not be punished for decisions their parents made. He was among the leaders of the effort led by backbenchers in 2014 that resulted in the partial decriminalization of marijuana possession in the state. In January 2013, Luedtke was appointed to chair the Financial Resources Subcommittee, which oversees the lottery, casino gambling, and horse racing. He was also appointed as Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Gaming Oversight. He continued to serve as Chair of that subcommittee until 2017, when he was appointed to chair the Education Subcommittee, which oversees education policy in the state from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. As Chair of the Education Subcommittee, Luedtke authored a range of legislation related to education policy. In 2017, he led successful efforts to place limits on standardized testing in schools through the Less Testing, More Learning Act. That year, he also authored and led the effort to pass and override a veto on the Protect Our Schools Act, which aimed to force the state to assess the quality of schools using a range of criteria rather than simply test scores, and banned the state from attempting to privatize public schools. In 2019, he coordinated efforts by legislators to apply pressure to the State Department of Education to update their history curriculum to ensure that students are taught about the history of the LGBT and disability rights movements. In January 2019, Luedtke was selected to Chair the Democratic Caucus in the House of Delegates. Later that spring, following the unexpected passing of long time Speaker
Michael E. Busch Michael Erin “Coach” Busch (January 4, 1947 – April 7, 2019) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 106th Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until his death in 2019. Busch was a mem ...
, he presided over a contentious caucus meeting convened to choose a new Speaker. That meeting resulted in the selection of a compromise candidate, Adrienne A. Jones, who became the first woman and the first black legislator to serve in the role of Speaker in Maryland. Later that year, Speaker Jones then elevated Luedtke to serve as House Majority Leader. Luedtke has advocated in the legislature on a broad range of issues, most notably education, the environment, and for the rights of people with disabilities. During the 2012 legislative session, he argued during floor debate for passage of a bill increasing Maryland's minimum legal age for dropping out of school. He was the lead sponsor in the House of Delegates of Maryland's successful ban on possession and sale of shark fin, part of an international effort to protect shark populations. In 2019, during debate on legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Maryland, Luedtke gave a key floor speech in support of the bill. The bill later passed the House of Delegates but failed in the Senate. On November 14, 2022, Governor-elect
Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, investment banker, author, and television producer. He is the governor-elect of Maryland, after defeating Republican Dan Cox in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial ele ...
announced that Luedtke would serve as his chief legislative officer. He resigned from the Maryland House of Delegates on January 2, 2023. On January 3, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee nominated former state's attorney candidate Bernice Mireku-North to succeed Luedtke; her designation is pending appointment by outgoing governor
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 ...
.


Election results


2010 Democratic Primary

In 2010, Luedtke ran for the House of Delegates after then-Delegates Herman L. Taylor, Jr. and Karen S. Montgomery decided to run for higher offices. Luedtke was successful in the Democratic primary, coming in third behind incumbent Delegate Anne Kaiser and political staffer
Craig Zucker Craig Jason Zucker (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician who has represented District 14 in the Maryland Senate since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from ...
.


2010 General Election

In the 2010 General Election, Democratic nominees Anne Kaiser, Eric Luedtke and
Craig Zucker Craig Jason Zucker (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician who has represented District 14 in the Maryland Senate since 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from ...
faced Republican nominees Patricia Fenati, Henry Kahwaty and Maria Peña-Faustino. All Democratic candidates won in a landslide, with Luedtke placing third.


2014 Elections

In 2014, Luedtke, Kaiser, and Zucker ran for re-election. They faced only a single challenger in the primary, winning by wide margins. In the General Election, the three incumbents beat back a strong challenge from Republican candidates buoyed by the off-year wave election and the election of Republican Governor Larry Hogan.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luedtke, Eric 1981 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Maryland Democrats People from Burtonsville, Maryland University of Maryland, College Park alumni