# Steve Hershey

Steve Hershey is a Republican member of the Maryland Senate for district 36.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Maryland Senate, district 36
- Serving since: 2013-10-01
- Current term: MD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/2271e390-772d-440c-9601-f72ed997092b

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/2271e390-772d-440c-9601-f72ed997092b (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

38% of the 69 bills Hershey sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom tenth of the Maryland Senate.

## What Hershey says (MD 2025–26 session)

76 classified statements: 76 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Hershey | State Senate Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.3% | 272 of 354 |
| Policy criticism | 28.9% | 9.5% | 18 of 354 |
| Policy discussion | 56.6% | 37.3% | 58 of 354 |
| Bipartisanship | 2.6% | 2.3% | 118 of 354 |
| Credit claiming | 10.5% | 15.4% | 203 of 354 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.3% | 261 of 354 |

Most discussed policy areas: Economics and Public Finance 53% (State Senate Republicans 12%); Energy 40% (State Senate Republicans 5.8%); Taxation 21% (State Senate Republicans 7.1%); Government Operations and Politics 19% (State Senate Republicans 17%); Commerce 12% (State Senate Republicans 4.5%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.42 (standard error 0.02), from 241 donors and 1,140 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 59% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (MD 2025–26 session)

2,121 roll calls. Attendance 92.3% (Maryland Senate 93.6%). Party unity 97.3% (94.9%). 24 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-08-04 · voted nay · 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 yea · 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 yea · 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 nay · 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 · 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 yea · 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 nay · 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 nay · 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/
- 2026-08-04 · voted yea · Floor Amendment Simonaire /713626/1 · HB 2100 Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · fail · https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/HB2100/

## Legislation (MD 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 69 bills: 69 reached committee, 26 passed one chamber, 22 passed both, 22 became law. Cosponsored 0. 37.7% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Maryland Senate 60.0%; rank 44 of 47).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SB 2102: Legislative and Congressional Redistricting and Legislative and Congressional Redistricting and Apportionment Commission (Fair Districts for Maryland Act) (in committee, 2026-08-03) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB2102/
- SB 1008: Alcohol and Cannabis - Cannabinoid Beverages Off-Premises Sales Permit - Establishment (in committee, 2026-03-25) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB1008/
- SB 1006: Maryland State Flag Protection Act (in committee, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB1006/
- SB 991: Public Information Act - Inspectors General - Access of Public Records (in committee, 2026-02-19) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB991/
- SB 706: Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - Alterations (in committee, 2026-02-10) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB706/
- SB 832: Nonprofit Hospitals - Community Benefits (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB832/
- SB 907: Public Health - Female Genital Mutilation (became law, 2026-04-14) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB907/
- SB 896: Vehicle Laws - Registration Fees - Alterations (in committee, 2026-02-12) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB896/
- 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 834: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Programs, Services, and Plans - Moratorium (in committee, 2026-02-16) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB834/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $98.9K (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 89% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-09-02 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2095221304219595039
- 2026-09-01 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2094812181590106437
- 2026-08-29 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2093491743215751181
- 2026-08-28 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2093484856629969041
- 2026-08-14 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2088380944176562610
- 2026-08-09 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2086247701457387594
- 2026-08-08 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2085891723696173543
- 2026-08-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2084835709848813885
- 2026-08-05 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2084988657631363559
- 2026-08-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenatorHershey/status/2085095684332474613

## Links

- Official site: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/hershey
- Campaign site: https://senatorhershey.com/
- X: https://x.com/SenatorHershey
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorSteveHershey/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steve.hershey.98/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senatorstevehershey/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-hershey-10a85937/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/2271e390-772d-440c-9601-f72ed997092b