# Ron Watson

Ron Watson is a Democratic member of the Maryland Senate for district 23.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Maryland Senate, district 23
- Serving since: 2021-08-31
- Current term: MD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/177ee919-8310-4485-9b07-041cd83b2947

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/177ee919-8310-4485-9b07-041cd83b2947 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

46% of the 93 bills Watson sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom quarter of the Maryland Senate.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.44 (standard error 0.01), from 537 donors and 1,745 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 80% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (MD 2025–26 session)

4,900 roll calls. Attendance 95.6% (Maryland Senate 93.6%). Party unity 96.5% (94.9%). 54 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · Suspended Rule 24 to allow two readings of a bill in the same day · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · pass · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/
- 2026-08-04 · voted nay · Floor Amendment Salling /763427/1 · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · fail · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/
- 2026-08-04 · voted nay · Floor Amendment West /943226/1 · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · fail · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/
- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · Motion to limit debate · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · pass · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/
- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · On Third Reading (Emerg) · HB 2101 Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026 - Withdraw and Repeal of Duplicate Proposed Constitutional Amendment · pass · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2101/
- 2026-08-04 · voted nay · Floor Amendment Ready /393120/1 · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · fail · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/
- 2026-08-04 · voted nay · Floor Amendment Gallion /473622/1 · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · fail · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/
- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · On Third Reading (Emerg) · HB 2101 Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026 - Withdraw and Repeal of Duplicate Proposed Constitutional Amendment · pass · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2101/
- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · Suspended Rule 24 to allow two readings of a bill in the same day · HB 2101 Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026 - Withdraw and Repeal of Duplicate Proposed Constitutional Amendment · pass · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2101/
- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · Bill is on Third Reading for Final Passage. · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · pass · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/

## Legislation (MD 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 93 bills: 93 reached committee, 43 passed one chamber, 31 passed both, 29 became law. Cosponsored 0. 46.2% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Maryland Senate 60.0%; rank 39 of 47).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SB 962: January 6th Insurrectionists - Prohibition on Service in Certain Government Roles (in committee, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB962/
- SB 761: Expansion of Commercial Gaming - Internet Gaming Referendum (in committee, 2026-03-13) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB761/
- SB 749: Residential Retail Customer and Retail Electricity Suppliers - Definition and Alterations (in committee, 2026-02-10) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB749/
- SB 720: Education - Artificial Intelligence - Guidelines, Professional Development, and Collaborative (Artificial Intelligence Ready Schools Act) (became law, 2026-05-26) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB720/
- SB 858: Department of Budget and Management - Audit and Finance Compliance Unit - Establishment (became law, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB858/
- SB 885: Internet Gaming and Online Bingo - Authorization and Implementation (in committee, 2026-02-11) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB885/
- SB 841: Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act (passed one chamber, 2026-04-13) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB841/
- SB 850: Electric and Gas Companies - Energy Efficiency, Conservation, and Demand Response Programs - Alterations (Utility Affordability and Ratepayer Protection Act… (in committee, 2026-02-16) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB850/
- SB 935: Income Tax - Subtraction Modification - Donations to Food Banks and Other Charitable Entities (in committee, 2026-02-11) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB935/
- SB 759: Financial Institutions - Digital Assets and Digital Asset Staking - Regulation (Maryland Financial Innovation Act of 2026) (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB759/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $174.4K (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 88% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/watson04
- Campaign site: https://www.ronformaryland.com/
- X: https://x.com/ronformaryland?lang=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonForMaryland/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senatorwatson/?locale=dehttps%3A555ten.com%2F%3Fgclid%3DCjwKCAiA85efBhBbEiwAD7oLQD0Yv4VqRr-r7JZQO0urJZYdRtRM6QkTusDKWfLnFFK5MAIkhLUd3BoCBiYQAvD_BwE%3Flocale%3Ddehttps%3A%2F%2F555ten.com%2F%3Fgclid%3DCjwKCAiA85efBhBbEiwAD7oLQD0Yv4VqRr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-watson-phd-2167a290/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/177ee919-8310-4485-9b07-041cd83b2947