Maryland Senate President Mike Miller stepping down

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr.’s announced that he is stepping down and will not seek the Democratic nomination to serve as Senate President in the 2020 Legislative Session.

Miller made the announcement at a press conference Thursday where explained his decision was largely due to his fight against an aggressive form of cancer, anemia, and other health-related concerns.

“My mind is still strong but my body is weak,” Sen. Miller said. “I have cancer, it’s metastasized to the bone, it has grown in the last six months, but I suffer from anemia, and I suffer from fatigue. This is a full-time job, it’s a statewide job, and we need somebody younger and we have those people present in the room today.”

Governor Larry Hogan released a statement, thanking Sen. Miller for his decades of service to the people of Maryland.

“On behalf of a grateful state, I want to sincerely thank Senate President Mike Miller for his 33 years of dedicated service as president of the Maryland Senate,” Gov. Hogan explained. “As the longest continuously serving presiding officer in the nation, President Miller has been a strong, unifying leader for the legislature and the state.

“I have immense respect for Mike Miller. For the past year, he has shown all of us what courage and determination look like as he faces a very tough personal battle. As we celebrate his historic tenure as president of the Senate, Maryland’s First Lady and I ask all Marylanders to join us in praying for him and his family.”

House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones also released a statement, saying President Miller is one of the most consequential state legislative figures of the 20th and 21st century in the United States of America.

“He quite literally defines what it means to be a presiding officer in the modern political era, but his story is not yet fully written,” Speaker Jones said. “I will continue to rely on his counsel, guidance, and friendship as I begin my first full legislative session as Speaker of the House.”

Democratic Caucus leaders met Thursday and are leaning towards Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore City Senator, to serve as the next President of the Maryland State Senate.