Kathy Szeliga

Kathy Szeliga
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2011
Preceded by	J. B. Jennings
Personal details
Born	(1961-10-10) October 10, 1961 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mark (1980–present)
Alma mater	Towson University (BA)

Kathy Szeliga (born October 10, 1961) is an American Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, serving since January 12, 2011 and as Minority Whip since 2013. Szeliga was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 2016 to replace Barbara Mikulski, who is retiring.^[1]

Background

Szeliga was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in October 1961. She is of Polish descent.^[2] She was raised in a military family, her father being a lieutenant colonel in the US Army. Szeliga married her husband in 1980, and the couple struggled financially at first. Szeliga worked as a dishwasher, a maid, and a housekeeper. She entered college in her 30s, enrolling at Towson State University and graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. She began working as a teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools and started a construction business with her husband. She began her political career after a family friend, James M. Kelly, was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. She worked as a legislative aide to Del. James M. Kelly, then for Del. John G. Trueschler, and eventually became chief of staff for then-State Senator Andy Harris. Szeliga decided to run for Delegate after Del. J. B. Jennings decided to run for State Senate. She was elected and immediately placed on the Appropriations Committee.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

In the legislature

Szeliga serves on the Environment and Transportation Committee (since 2015), Rules and Executive Nominations Committee (since 2014), and Legislative Policy Committee (since 2015). She was previously a member of the Appropriations Committee (2011–15), House Emergency Medical Services System Work Group (2012), and Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer (2015). She is a member of the Women Legislators of Maryland Caucus (since 2011), Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus (since 2012), and Maryland Veterans Caucus (since 2012).^[3]

In April 2013, Delegate Szeliga was elected into leadership by her peers and serves as the Whip in the House Republican Caucus. She serves with Leader Nic Kipke of Anne Arundel County. Szeliga is the highest-ranking Republican woman in Maryland's state legislature and has been described as one of the most powerful female politicians in the state.^[8][9]

US Senate campaign

Szeliga announced in November 2015 that she would be running for the Republican nomination to replace Senator Barbara Mikulski in the 2016 US Senate election in Maryland.^[10] She was the first Republican in the 2016 Senate primary to release ads on television.^[11] On April 15, Citizens United announced they had bought $25,000 worth of radio airtime to promote Del. Szeliga ahead of the April 26 primary.^[12] Szeliga won the primary on April 26, 2016, and faced Representative Chris Van Hollen in the general election on November 8, 2016,^[13] in which she was defeated.^[14]

Election results

• 2014 election for Maryland House of Delegates – District 7^[15]

Voters to choose three:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Pat McDonough, Rep.	35,627	26.9%	Won
Kathy Szeliga, Rep.	33,197	25.0%	Won
Richard Impallaria, Rep.	32,560	24.6%	Won
Bob Bowle, Jr., Dem.	11,154	8.4%	Lost
Norman Gifford, Jr., Dem.	10,192	7.7%	Lost
Pete Definbaugh, Dem.	9,707	7.3%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	145	0.1%	Lost

• 2010 election for Maryland House of Delegates – District 7^[16]

Voters to choose three:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Richard Impallaria, Rep.	27,217	23.1%	Won
Pat McDonough, Rep.	25,450	21.6%	Won
Kathy Szeliga, Rep.	24,573	20.9%	Won
Jeff Beard, Dem.	14,885	12.6%	Lost
Kristina A. Sargent, Dem.	13,551	11.5%	Lost
James Ward Morrow, Dem.	11,960	10.2%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	111	0.1%	Lost

References

External links

• Official Senate Campaign Site
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN