Press Release: Feb 11, 2026

“Government should not be making life harder for the people who are already doing everything right.”- Senator Steve Hershey

Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey Delivers Republican
Perspective on the State of the State Message to Marylanders

Annapolis, MD.:

Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey will deliver the Republican Perspective on the State of the State message to Marylanders immediately following Governor Moore’s fourth State of the State of the Address on Maryland Public Television.

Senator Hershey challenges the gap between rhetoric and reality in Maryland, arguing that families and businesses are worse off after four years of rising costs, expanding regulation, and delayed fiscal accountability. Hershey points to higher energy bills, a looming multibillion-dollar budget deficit, and growing uncertainty for job creators as signs that the administration’s promises of urgency and progress have gone unmet. He calls for a new direction focused on affordability, fiscal accountability, reliable energy, streamlined regulation, and economic growth — emphasizing that leadership should be measured by outcomes, not slogans.

Hershey also addresses the Governor’s repeated references to national politics in explaining Maryland’s current challenges, arguing that responsibility for the state’s rising costs, energy policy failures, and fiscal instability rests with decisions made in Annapolis over multiple years — not with recent changes in Washington.

Selected Highlights

“Earlier today, you heard Governor Moore deliver his fourth State of the State address and outline his vision for Maryland. Vision matters. But as this Governor enters his fourth year in office, Marylanders are entitled to more than vision — results matter more. The first State of the State was grand. The second was ambitious. The third was hopeful. Now, Marylanders are asking a very simple question: What has actually changed? Do families feel more secure? Is life more affordable? Is it easier to live, work, build, and invest in Maryland? For far too many Marylanders, the honest answer is no.”

“It’s easy to blame Washington, but Marylanders know better,” Hershey said. “Rising costs, energy prices, and structural deficits didn’t appear overnight, and they didn’t start last year. President Trump has been in office for just one year. Marylanders expect their governor to focus on Maryland’s problems and take responsibility for the decisions made right here at home.”

“Maryland does not have to accept rising costs, growing government, and shrinking opportunity as inevitable. Republicans are offering a better path — one that restores affordability, rebuilds accountability, delivers reliable and affordable energy, and grows our economy by letting Marylanders work, build, and invest without government standing in the way.”

“Marylanders are paying some of the highest electric rates in the country not because of storms or global markets, but because of political decisions made in Annapolis. Reliable, affordable energy was sacrificed, affordability was ignored, and Maryland families are paying the price every single month.”

“Governor Moore has described Maryland as ‘asset-rich but strategy-poor.’ He’s right. But after years in office, that phrase has become an indictment of inaction. If we had a real strategy, families wouldn’t be falling further behind, businesses wouldn’t be questioning whether Maryland wants them to stay, and the state wouldn’t be facing a massive budget shortfall.”

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