Maryland Governor Endorses Thiru Vignarajah's Campaign For Baltimore City State's Attorney
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Thiru Vignarajah is seeking to un-seat Marilyn Mosby as Baltimore City State's Attorney.
Maryland's former Deputy Attorney General previously headed the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office's Major Investigation Unit.
Vignarajah unveiled a radio ad Tuesday touting the endorsement of Gov. Larry Hogan, who said Baltimore needs "a crime fighter focused on protecting victims, a real State's Attorney, a proven prosecutor." Hogan said he "trusts (Vignarajah) to do what's right for us."
The two marched side by side in a Fourth of July parade Monday.
"These bullets don't have a party affiliation," Vignarajah said of Gov. Hogan's endorsement. "The tombstones of those being slain in Baltimore, they don't bear the markings of race or color or party."
Hogan has 61% support from statewide Democrats, according to a March 2022 Goucher Poll, but lost by considerable margins in both 2014 and 2018 among Baltimore City voters.
Vignarajah campaigned for mayor in 2020, as well. He has said it is his goal to get the annual murder tally below 200.
"2011, 2012, we had murdered below 200. It didn't require mass incarceration or zero tolerance. It required smart strategies, common sense policing and prosecution strategies," he said.
The 2022 City State's Attorney race is a carbon copy of the 2018 field. Prominent defense attorney Ivan Bates is also challenging Ms. Mosby. In 2018, Mosby defeated both challengers.
Ms. Mosby faces federal charges of perjury and falsifying information on mortgage applications. Her trial date was pushed back to September 19.
"Four years ago, I was a complete rookie with no name recognition and nobody had even heard of before. I'm the past four years, we've used our platform to build a relationship," Vignarajah said.
Maryland's Primary Election Day is July 19. A week of in-person, early voting begins Thursday, July 7. Mail-in voting has already begun.