Eliott Herneker
RepublicanQ1 Maryland residents are facing sharply rising electricity bills driven by a combination of power plant retirements, surging market prices, and rapidly growing demand (including from the proliferation of data centers across the region). If elected, what specific steps will you take to address the causes of high energy costs for Maryland residents and businesses, including data centers?
“Maryland families should not be forced to subsidize massive new electric loads while their own bills keep rising. I would push the Public Service Commission to strictly enforce Maryland’s new large-load rate protections so data centers and other very large users pay the full costs they create for generation, transmission, and grid upgrades. Not residential ratepayers. I also support stronger transparency around projected demand and grid impacts before major projects are approved. Maryland needs more reliable in-state generation and a balanced energy strategy that keeps existing dependable capacity online while expanding cost-effective clean energy, storage, and grid modernization. I support rooftop, parking-lot, and brownfield solar before sacrificing productive farmland. I also believe local communities must retain a meaningful voice over data-center siting. My test is simple: energy policy should lower costs, improve reliability, and make the users creating extraordinary new demand pay their fair share.”
Q2 Since early 2025, Maryland has lost nearly 25,000 federal jobs (more than any other state) as funding cuts to federal agencies including the NIH, NASA, and NIST take effect. How would you approach strengthening Maryland’s economy, and what steps would you take to ensure that workers across different roles and education levels benefit from those efforts?
“Maryland cannot replace tens of thousands of lost federal jobs with one industry or with programs that only benefit people with four-year degrees. I would focus on growing a broader private-sector economy in advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, life sciences, skilled trades, logistics, health care, and emerging technology. That means making Maryland easier and less expensive for employers to invest in, supporting small businesses, and connecting displaced workers to jobs where their existing skills transfer. I would expand paid apprenticeships, career and technical education, community-college partnerships, and employer-led credential programs so people can enter good-paying careers without taking on unnecessary debt. For workers with advanced degrees, Maryland should do more to retain scientists, engineers, and researchers affected by federal cuts by connecting them with universities, startups, and Maryland-based employers. Economic growth should be measured not just by announcements, but by whether working families actually see better jobs, higher take-home pay, and real opportunity.”
Q3 Maryland faces public health challenges ranging from stark socioeconomic health disparities, a behavioral health and opioid crisis that disproportionately impacts communities of color, gaps in rural mental health access, and a strained public health infrastructure. What evidence-based policies do you support to improve community health for your constituents?
“Public health policy should be driven by outcomes. I support expanding access to evidence-based addiction treatment, medication-assisted treatment, naloxone, recovery services, and behavioral-health care while improving follow-up after overdoses so people are not simply stabilized and sent back into the same crisis. Maryland’s own data show that overdose disparities remain severe, including disproportionately high rates among older Black men, so resources should be targeted using real local data rather than one-size-fits-all programs. I would support telehealth, mobile crisis services, and incentives to place mental-health professionals in underserved and rural communities. I also support stronger school-based mental-health partnerships and better coordination among hospitals, local health departments, first responders, and treatment providers. Every program receiving public money should be evaluated for measurable results. If a program is not reducing overdoses, shortening treatment wait times, or improving access to care, we should fix it or redirect the funding.”
Q4 Across the state of Maryland, science and STEM education cultivate interest at a lower rate than intended, too few community-college students successfully transfer and complete bachelor’s degrees, and college affordability remains vulnerable to shifts in federal student aid and support. What evidence-based policies do you support to build a strong science and STEM pipeline from public schools and K-12 programs through colleges and universities for the next generation of Marylanders?
“A strong STEM pipeline starts long before college. I support stronger math, science, and computer-science instruction in K–12 schools, hands-on laboratory learning, and partnerships that expose students to engineering, health care, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and the skilled trades. We should expand career and technical programs, apprenticeships, and dual-enrollment opportunities so students can earn real credentials and college credit before graduation. Maryland also needs a smoother community-college-to-university pathway. I would strengthen and simplify transfer agreements so students do not lose credits unnecessarily, and protect programs such as Maryland’s 2+2 Transfer Scholarship that help community-college graduates complete bachelor’s degrees. College affordability matters, but so does value: state aid should help students complete degrees and credentials connected to real workforce needs. The goal should be multiple respected pathways—university, community college, apprenticeship, or skilled trade—each capable of leading to a good career.”
Q5 What policies, if any, do you support or envision for managing land-based resources in your district (i.e. water, open-space preserves, parks)?
“In District 34A, protecting land and water should go hand in hand with responsible growth. I support preserving open space, improving existing parks, protecting streams and the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and using state programs such as Program Open Space to help local governments acquire and improve recreation land. I would prioritize redevelopment of already-disturbed properties and brownfields before converting productive farmland or sensitive natural areas for large industrial or energy projects. Stormwater, flooding, drainage, and water-quality decisions should be based on current engineering and environmental data, especially in communities already dealing with repeated flooding or aging infrastructure. I also support maintaining public access to parks, trails, and waterways and making sure state grants are distributed transparently and based on demonstrated community need. Conservation should not mean freezing communities in place; it should mean growing intelligently while protecting the natural resources residents depend on.”
Q6 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“I would build evidence into the policymaking process instead of using it only after a position has already been chosen. For major legislation, I would review nonpartisan fiscal and policy analyses, agency data, peer-reviewed research when available, and testimony from qualified subject-matter experts. I would also seek input from the people directly affected, because data can show what is happening while residents and frontline professionals can explain why. When scientific evidence is uncertain or experts disagree, I would be transparent about that uncertainty rather than presenting assumptions as settled fact. I also support stronger use of legislative audits, program evaluations, and measurable performance goals so lawmakers can determine whether policies are actually working after they pass. Good policymaking requires being willing to change course when credible evidence shows that a program is ineffective, too costly, or producing unintended consequences.”
Q7 What initiatives will you take to support investment in innovation via federal science funding?
“Maryland has a major advantage in research, medicine, cybersecurity, aerospace, and advanced technology, and we should turn more of that research into Maryland jobs and companies. I would support stable, competitively awarded state research funding where there is a clear public benefit, while protecting taxpayers through measurable goals, independent review, and transparency. I would also support programs that help universities and researchers commercialize discoveries, including partnerships with Maryland startups and employers. Existing efforts such as TEDCO’s Maryland Innovation Initiative show how the state can help move promising university research toward real products and businesses. I would prioritize fields where Maryland already has strong institutions and workforce advantages, while ensuring smaller companies and researchers have a fair opportunity to compete. Government should not pick political favorites, but it can create the conditions for high-value research, innovation, and private investment to stay and grow here.”