The news surrounding tomorrow's Maryland primary burbles around the likelihood that many races will be decided tomorrow, not in November. Lots of money is changing hands to the benefit of favored (maybe, compliant) candidates and some of it appears to be coming from behind aliases. The deadline is closing in for a possible special session of the Assembly to ease the path to reapportionment, still a source of unease.. Big races are coming up tomorrow around the country, too, while Trump's approval hits new lows amid global supply-chain shocks. "We need plot twists," Trump avows, but he may be too tied up to twist. Fun times. It's News You Can Use.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Summaries by Maryland Reporter

State To Spend $85 Million To Retain Rights To Preakness, Black Eyed Susan Stakes: The state said Thursday it is exercising its option to match an $85 million offer to retain the intellectual property rights to the Preakness Stakes and the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, which were on the verge of being sold to the owners of the Kentucky Derby. Maryland Matters. 6/19

Van Hollen ‘Kicking Tires’ On Potential Run For President: A campaign spokesperson for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) confirmed Thursday that the two-term senator who has developed an increasingly high national profile is “kicking the tires” on a potential run in 2028 for the U.S. presidency. Maryland Matters. 6/19

Early Voting Ends With Light Turnout At Polls, Thousands Of Mail-In Ballots So Far: On the first seven days of early voting, more than 138,387 people cast their ballots, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections, nearly 3.8% of the 3.8 million eligible primary voters in the state. That’s up slightly from the first seven days during the 2022 gubernatorial election, when 125,384 turned out. The total for all eight days that year was 172,364. Maryland Matters. 6/19

Carroll County Opens Applications For $5.5 Million Farmland Preservation Program: Carroll County is accepting applications for its agricultural land preservation program, which has $5.5 million to spend this cycle — including $3 million in new funding approved by commissioners to protect farmland and forestland from development. Carroll County Times. 6/19

 Talbot School Board Approves A $72,500 Weapons Detection Plan: The Talbot County Board of Education approved the first step of a weapons detection technology plan . The three metal detectors will be installed at the Easton High School stadium and St. Michaels Middle High School sports complex and supervised by officers from Talbot County Sheriff’s Office. Star Democrat. 6/19

Sports betting interests are pouring unregulated money into Maryland Democratic primaries – so far, more than $1.5 million: Among the impacts of the money dumped into the state by Dallas-based American Future PAC are television ads touting Senator President Bill Ferguson as a progressive champion and others bashing Delegate Frank M. Conaway Jr. as Trump-adjacent. Baltimore Brew

Another Measles Case Enters Maryland: The state’s health department alerted Marylanders to a confirmed case of measles Saturday afternoon after a resident returned from an international trip. The Maryland Department of Health said anyone who was at Dulles International Airport last Wednesday from 6 to 11 a.m. in Concourse C’s international arrivals, on the transportation from the concourse or in baggage claim could have been exposed. Baltimore Banner.

Delegates Asked To Consider Two Special Sessions: Members of the House of Delegates are being asked to consider two windows for a special session that could consider two possible amendments to the Maryland Constitution.House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, in a June 16 letter, asked House members to consider a week in mid-July and a week in early August to consider a bill related to midcycle congressional redistricting. She noted two bills: one amending the Constitution to clarify how congressional districts may be drawn and one that would establish a special election process for filling some vacancies in the Maryland House and Senate. Maryland Matters.

 MO CO Delegate, Union Chief Trade Accusations, A Few Blows: The head of a Montgomery County government employees union and a two-term delegate from the county traded blows during a scuffle Thursday evening outside an early voting center, and now they are trading accusations over the incident. Maryland Matters.

The (Primary) Winner Takes All: Dozens Of Seats Likely To Be Decided Tuesday

Md. GOP failed to field candidates in dozens of legislative races; contested general election races made less competitive by gerrymandering. In a Blue state like Maryland, the primaries often serve as the general election.  Maryland Matters

THE REGION AND THE OTHER 49

Virginia legislators hammer out budget agreement

After months of debate and an increasingly fraught battle over how to tax and regulate data centers, Virginia budget negotiators announced Friday evening that they’d reached a deal featuring a new energy consumption tax for the industry that’s expected to generate $1.2 billion over the biennium. The new plan also includes 4% raises for teachers each year, and roughly $285 million for health insurance from the state marketplace and food assistance funding for low-income families. The Virginia House of Delegates will convene Monday afternoon in Richmond and the state Senate will meet the same day, as both chambers vote to finalize the budget, which will take effect July 1. News from the States

Northeast states eye offshore HVDC transmission as Trump drops wind fight

Nine Northeast states [including Maryland] and the District of Columbia are exploring development of an offshore transmission network along the Atlantic Coast to reduce electricity costs and improve reliability. On Monday, the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission published a trio of reports around technical standards and policy recommendations to advance a high-voltage direct current network. The reports are an important step in ensuring states, grid operators and the electric industry “are working from a shared framework to help accelerate offshore wind deployment and unlock broad consumer benefits,” a Massachusetts energy official said in a statement. The Trump administration has been opposed to wind development, but on Monday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit granted a U.S. Department of Interior request to drop its defense of a ban on wind projects. Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C. had challenged an executive order President Trump signed last year, attempting to block wind power development in the U.S. Utility Dive 6/19

Banking Next Door: The Delaware legislature has given final approval to a package of laws updating the state’s banking laws for the first time in 45 years. The bills create definitions in Delaware code for digital assets and virtual currency, allow for more interstate mergers, and apply state laws to crypto businesses and money transmitters like PayPal. (Delaware Public Media)

Charter Schools: Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) has signed a bill creating a three-year moratorium on new public charter schools. The bill lowers the statewide cap on charter schools from 35 to 28. It will stop the opening of a bilingual school in Providence, even though that school had already received preliminary approval from the state. (Providence Journal) 6/19

More than $1 billion: The amount spent by candidates running for governor and the outside groups on television and digital advertising this year, eclipsing the total spent in the 2022 midterm election five months ahead of time. Much of that spending comes from a few ultra-wealthy candidates, including Tom Steyer (D), who spent $209 million on his bid in California, and Rick Jackson (R), who spent $102 million on his primary campaign in Georgia. (Pluribus News) (paywalled) 6/19

Water, Water Nowhere: $600 million: The amount Arizona lawmakers have re-appropriated from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority. That’s 60% of the $1 billion initially appropriated to the fund, which is supposed to be seeking new water sources for the state. Lawmakers have used the budget as what WIFA officials call a “soft rainy day fund” to plug other financial holes. (State Affairs) via Pluribus

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

Public opinion of civil servants continues to climb
New research shows support for nonpartisan civil service rebounding after 2025 drop; Trump’s attacks ‘may actually be backfiring’ Federal News Network via Maryland Matters.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that DOGE backers in Congress — focused on cutting government spending — took home $1.1 billion in earmarks this fiscal year. They say the money is better spent in their states than others.

Newsletter Merry-go-Round: Semafor quotes Axios: The vast majority of data center opponents don’t live near one, according to polling from Milltown Partners, suggesting that “data centers have become a stand-in for broader anger at an AI future.”

‘The purpose of the rule is fascism’: scientists fight back against planned Trump research cuts -- Stand Up for Science founder says proposal to control how grants are spent would ‘dismantle US science ecosystem’ The rule, proposed by OMB director Russ Vought on 29 May, would place all research and other federal grants under the control of political appointees, rather than scientific or subject-matter experts. Former National Institutes of Health (NIH) program official Elizabeth Ginexi quoted the rule as prohibiting anything that “promote[s] anti-American values”. “The rule also requires that discretionary awards must ‘… demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities,’” she added. Colette Delawalla, the founder of the group Stand Up for Science, said the EO would create a “$1.5tn slush fund” under Trump’s control. “The purpose of the rule is fascism,” she told the Guardian.

And: Who will save us? Remember that game 3 jinx...

“We’re not as captivated by the Knicks if they become NBA champions in 2009 or 2023, because our need for something good to counterbalance everything bad would not have been as strong. It matters that the president is who he is, and that the only game he attended is the only game they lost in a month. And the only Knicks home game in the Finals he didn’t attend saw witness to the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. Even the harshest skeptic of the supernatural’s ability to be telekinetic can’t ignore the cosmic directive of the basketball gods giving Trump the finger. …It matters that the Knicks are a testament to the power of a united collective.” NOTUS