Antonio Lamar Hayes (born December 9, 1977) is an American politician who represents the 40th legislative district of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

. He previously represented the 40th district in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

from 2015 to 2019.

Background

Hayes was born in

. He was raised by his grandmother and grew up in Baltimore. He attended

Frostburg State University Frostburg State University (FSU) is a public university in Frostburg, Maryland. The university is the only four-year institution of the University System of Maryland west of the Baltimore-Washington passageway in the state's Appalachian highlan ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in political science in 2000. Since 2010, Hayes has served as the Chief of Staff of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.

In the legislature

In 2014, Hayes defeated two-term incumbent Shawn Z. Tarrant to win a seat in the House of Delegates. He was sworn in on January 14, 2015. On July 29, 2017, Hayes announced his bid for State Senate, challenging appointed state Senator Barbara A. Robinson for the seat formerly held by Mayor Catherine Pugh. He defeated Robinson in the Democratic primary, earning 65.4 percent of the vote. He ultimately won the general election unchallenged and took office on January 9, 2019. Following the death of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Elijah Cummings Elijah Eugene Cummings (January 18, 1951October 17, 2019) was an American politician and civil rights advocate who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1996 until his death in 2019, when he was succeeded by his predecess ...

in October 2019, Hayes was seen as a possible candidate in the subsequent

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. Later that month, he said that he would not run for the seat. In 2020, Hayes ran for national delegate pledged to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Maryland's 7th congressional district Maryland's 7th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives encompasses almost the entire Baltimore, city of Baltimore, and some of Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. The district was created following the cens ...

at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. He won the primary election, receiving 18.4 percent of the vote. He also served as a delegate to the

2024 Democratic National Convention The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention in which delegates of the Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party voted on their party ...

, pledged to

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

Committee assignments

* Member, Finance Committee, 2019–present (energy & public utilities subcommittee, 2019–present) * Member, Joint Committee on Federal Relations, 2019–present * Senate Chair, Joint Committee on Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorders, 2019–present * Member, Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, 2020–present * Member, Executive Nominations Committee, 2021–present * Member, Health and Government Operations Committee, 2015–2019 (government operations & long-term care subcommittee, 2015–2017; health facilities & occupations subcommittee, 2015–2017; government operations & estates & trusts subcommittee, 2017–2019; health facilities & pharmaceuticals subcommittee, 2017–2019) * Member, Joint Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, 2015–2019 * Member, Public Safety and Policing Work Group, 2015–2016 * Member,

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

Work Group, 2018 * Member, Opioid Work Group, 2018

Other memberships

* Chair, Baltimore City Senate Delegation, 2019–2020 * Member,

Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc. (also known as The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to the Maryland General Assembly. Incorporated in 1970, the Caucus me ...

, 2015–present * Vice-Chair, Democratic Party Caucus, 2020–present

Political positions

Paid family leave

During the 2020 legislative session, Hayes introduced the "Time to Care Act", a bill that would provide Maryland workers with up to 12 weeks of

paid family leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

. The bill was reintroduced in 2021 and 2022, during which it passed and became law after the General Assembly voted to override Governor

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party and son of three-term U.S. representative Lawrence Hogan, he served as co-ch ...

's veto.

Statewide politics

In September 2021, Hayes endorsed author

Wes Moore Westley Watende Omari Moore (born October 15, 1978) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former U.S. Army officer serving as the 63rd governor of Maryland since 2023. Moore was born in Maryland and raised primarily in New York. ...

for Governor of Maryland in the

2022 Maryland gubernatorial election The 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Maryland. Incumbent Governor Larry Hogan was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. This was the first gubernatorial elect ...

Personal life

Hayes is a congregant at the Empowerment Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Antonio 1977 births Living people 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century African-American politicians African-American Methodists African-American state legislators in Maryland Democratic Party Maryland state senators Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Frostburg State University alumni Methodists from Maryland Politicians from Baltimore