# Will Smith

Will Smith is a Democratic member of the Maryland Senate for district 20.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Maryland Senate, district 20
- Serving since: 2016-12-21
- Current term: MD 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/6e1c09ac-57e7-4a54-bd83-74905670ad7f

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/6e1c09ac-57e7-4a54-bd83-74905670ad7f (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

Smith sits at −0.99 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 89% of State Senate Democrats.

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

215 classified statements: 215 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Smith | State Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.4% | 248 of 329 |
| Policy criticism | 5.6% | 10.3% | 197 of 329 |
| Policy discussion | 46.5% | 42.9% | 157 of 329 |
| Bipartisanship | 5.1% | 3.4% | 75 of 329 |
| Credit claiming | 21.9% | 16.1% | 91 of 329 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 0.8% | 228 of 329 |

Most discussed policy areas: Crime and Law Enforcement 35% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 16% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%); Education 11% (State Senate Democrats 15%); Immigration 11% (State Senate Democrats 4.2%); Government Operations and Politics 9.0% (State Senate Democrats 14%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.99 (standard error 0.02), from 659 donors and 1,658 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 11% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (MD 2025–26 session)

4,900 roll calls. Attendance 95.1% (Maryland Senate 93.6%). Party unity 99.9% (94.9%). 1 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, 70 passed one chamber, 48 passed both, 43 became law. Cosponsored 0. 75.3% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Maryland Senate 60.0%; rank 10 of 47).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SB 988: Judicial Facilities - Stops, Detentions, and Arrests - Limitations (in committee, 2026-03-06) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB988/
- SB 984: Correctional Services - Private Detention Facilities - Zoning Requirement (passed one chamber, 2026-03-26) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB984/
- SB 985: Correctional Services - Immigration Detention Facilities - Minimum Mandatory Standards (in committee, 2026-03-12) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB985/
- 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 775: Public Safety - Gun Buyback Programs - Destruction of Firearms (became law, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB775/
- SB 651: Real Property – Transfer–on–Death Deed – Establishment (became law, 2026-05-26) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB651/
- SB 933: Judiciary Department - Commission on Judicial Disabilities - Temporary Appointment (passed both chambers, 2026-05-31) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB933/
- SB 693: Civil Actions - Child Sexual Abuse - Repeal of Limitations on Attorney's Fees (in committee, 2026-03-09) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB693/
- 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 823: Correctional Services - Maryland Parole Commission - Members (passed both chambers, 2026-04-10) https://openstates.org/md/bills/2026/SB823/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $75.9K (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 93% 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.

- 2026-10-08 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2108286824896479267
- 2026-10-08 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2108287114932588560
- 2026-10-08 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2108287346340938049
- 2026-10-08 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2108287477593042946
- 2026-10-06 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2107578278592844282
- 2026-09-07 · Post on X · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2097049728538099902
- 2026-08-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2090476937609187470
- 2026-08-07 · Post on X · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2085829090930556936
- 2026-08-03 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2084345589362303352
- 2026-07-21 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/https://twitter.com/willcsmithjr/status/2079628318442234312

## Links

- Official site: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/smith02
- Campaign site: https://willsmithformaryland.com/
- X: https://x.com/willcsmithjr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/willsmithformaryland
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willcsmithjr/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamcsmithjr/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/6e1c09ac-57e7-4a54-bd83-74905670ad7f