By Greg Bassett

Considering that only one of the 13 members of the Eastern Shore Delegation to the Maryland General Assembly is a Democrat, it’s Republicans who will be the main actors in 2022’s Mid- and Lower Shore state legislative races.

And, after all the candidate filings became official Friday, some epic battles will be waged.

The District 37 state Senate seat now held by longtime Republican legislator Addie Eckhardt is being challenged by two-term fellow Republican Delegate Johnny Mautz.

Mautz’s challenge caught many by surprise, but it’s the same avenue by which Eckardt won the seat in 2014 – she was a state delegate when she took on incumbent Sen. Rich Colburn and won handily.

Eckhardt is a Cambridge resident and career-long health care worker, while Mautz of St. Michels is a restaurant owner and lawyer.

District 37 includes all of Talbot County, western Wicomico and large portions of Caroline and Dorchester counties. 

Majority-minority District 37A in the House of Delegates has only one filed candidate, incumbent Sheree Sample-Hughes of Salisbury. Sample-Hughes is currently the Eastern Shore Delegation’s sole Democratic member.

The battle for District 37B features a crowded Republican primary, with four people competing for two nominations.

Nicole Acle and Chris Adams, both of Salisbury, Tom Hutchinson of Woolford and the Rev. Ron James of Galestown are the four GOP filers.

The only Democrat in the race is Susan E. Delean-Botki of Oxford, a registered nurse who works for the University of Maryland Medical, who advances automatically to the Nov. 8 general election.

The 37B primary promises to be an epic battle, especially between Acle and Adams. Acle is a Wicomico County Council member who’s giving up her seat to make the run. Adams is one of the two incumbent delegates representing the district.

The other delegate is Mautz, who is leaving his seat to challenge Eckardt.

Only one person from a county can represent the district, which puts Acle in direct competition with Adams. Even if Acle and Adams were to receive more primary votes than the other two candidates, only the top vote-getter between the two can advance.

Acle, a health industry professional, was appointed to the County Council in 2019 and elected to complete a term representing District 2 in 2020.

Adams, a Salisbury business owner, is seeking a third term, having first been elected in 2014. 

Hutchinson is known for his redevelopment work with Cambridge Main Street. James has been mayor of the Dorchester hamlet since 2009.

In the race for District 38 state Senate seat, no primary is needed as only one Republican and Democrat have filed. Incumbent Republican Sen. Mary Beth Carozza will face a November challenge from Democratic Salisbury City Councilwoman Michele Gregory

District 38 includes all of Worcester and Somerset counties, and the eastern side of Wicomico.

Just one Republican and one Democrat will vie for the District 38B House seat.

Incumbent Republican Carl Anderton of Delmar last week picked up a surprise last-minute Democratic challenger, John William Hamilton.

A Salisbury resident, Hamilton was last in the political picture in 2018, when he unsuccessfully challenged the late Bob Culver’s re-election as Wicomico County Executive.

In the District 38C House race, Republican Wayne Hartman of Ocean City has no opposition, either from fellow Republicans or Democrats.

In February, the Maryland General Assembly approved a redistricting map that pla a chunk of Wicomico -- the area of St. Lukes Road and Nutters Crossing -- in District 38A, where Charles Otto is the Republican incumbent delegate.

Todd J. Nock of Pocomke City has filed as a Democrat for that seat, and will face Otto in November.