Cory McCray
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Cory V. McCray (born October 31, 1982) is an
American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...
who serves as a member of 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 ...
for Maryland's 45th district, located in northeast Baltimore City. Previously, McCray served as a member of 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 ...
and acting Chair of the
Maryland Democratic Party The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. The current acting state party chair is Charlene Dukes. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling a ...
.


Early life and career

McCray was born in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
and attended Fairmount-Harford High School. Shortly after McCray's 18th birthday, he signed up for an apprenticeship program with the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 820,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, an ...
, where he later served as an organizer. The program gave him enough money to start investing in real estate, purchasing his first house at 20. By age 25, he owned seven houses. In 2011, McCray received an
Associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...
in business management from the
Baltimore City Community College Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) is a public community college in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the only community college in the city and the only state-sponsored community college in the state. It is accredited by the Middle States Commi ...
and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
National Labor College The National Labor College was a college for union members and their families, union leaders and union staff in Silver Spring, Maryland. Established as a training center by the AFL–CIO in 1969 to strengthen union member education and organizin ...
in 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he served on the Baltimore City Board of Elections. In 2012, McCray and other community leaders formed the B.E.S.T. Democratic Club, which encouraged young people in east Baltimore to get involved in politics. By 2014, the group had more than 500 members. In May 2013, McCray announced his candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates, seeking to succeed delegate Nina R. Harper, who was appointed to the House following the death of Hattie N. Harrison. He prevailed in the Democratic primary, receiving 19.5 percent of the vote and coming third in a field of eight candidates. He received 27.6 percent of the vote in the general election. McCray is considered a political ally of
Brandon Scott Brandon Maurice Scott (born April 8, 1984) is an American politician serving as the Mayor of Baltimore, mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, since 2020. He was the president of the Baltimore City Council from 2019 to 2020, having been elected to the p ...
. During his 2014 House run, he worked closely with Scott when he was a city councilmember to provide constituent services to residents he encountered while
canvassing Canvassing, also known as door knocking or phone banking, is the systematic initiation of direct contact with individuals, commonly used during political campaigns. Canvassing can be done for many reasons: political campaigning, grassroot ...
. McCray was also a member of his mayoral transition team in 2020.


In the legislature

After being sworn in on January 14, 2015, McCray was appointed to the House Environment and Transportation Committee. He is also a member of the
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 ...
and the
Baltimore City Delegation The Baltimore City Delegation refers to the delegates who are elected from districts in Baltimore to serve in the Maryland House of Delegates in the United States. By 1983, the Baltimore City Delegation had 27 members, 3 each from 9 districts t ...
. In March 2017, Nicole Hanson, executive director of Out for Justice, filed an ethics complaint was filed against McCray, saying that she felt "physically and psychologically" threatened by McCray after he lost his temper during a conversation about the roots of poverty, causing him to throw a chair against a wall and begin using expletives. McCray denied throwing a chair, but acknowledged that his language and volume were unacceptable. He did not apologize to Hanson until he ran into her at a community event several weeks later. In April, the General Assembly's ethics committee found that McCray "breached the standards of conduct expected of a member." In July 2017, McCray publicly expressed interest in challenging Senate President Pro Tempore Nathaniel J. McFadden in the 2018 primary election, saying that he was "about 90 percent sure he will challenge his senator." He announced his candidacy for 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 ...
in September. McCray defeated McFadden in the Democratic primary election, receiving 58.5 percent of the vote to McFadden's 41.5 percent. He faced no Republican challengers in the general election. McCray was sworn into the Maryland Senate on January 9, 2019. He was appointed to the Budget and Taxation Committee, the Joint Audit and Evaluation Committee, the Special Committee on Pensions, the Joint Audit Committee, and the Spending Affordability Committee, and is a member of the Maryland Legislative Transit Caucus, the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. He was also an associate member of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus from 2019 to 2020. In November 2020, He was elected chair of the Baltimore City Senate Delegation. In October 2019, following the death of Representative
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 ...
, McCray said that he would give "serious consideration" to running in the 2020 special election in
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 ...
to fill the rest of his term. He later said that he would not run for the seat. In June 2025, ''
The Baltimore Banner ''The Baltimore Banner'' is a news website in Baltimore founded by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, which is a nonprofit set up by Stewart W. Bainum Jr. It launched June 14, 2022. It had a staff of 125, with about 80 working the ...
'' reported on McCray's involvement with a proposal by
Ronald Lipscomb The trial of Sheila Dixon, then mayor of Baltimore, started on November 9, 2009. It was the first of two scheduled trials for Dixon on a variety of charges. The charges stemmed from alleged corruption on the part of the mayor involving gifts she ...
to build a new apartment building near the
Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...
in east Baltimore. McCray, a board member of East Baltimore Development Inc. (EBDI), reportedly pressured fellow board members to sell a narrow plot of land near
Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...
to
Ronald Lipscomb The trial of Sheila Dixon, then mayor of Baltimore, started on November 9, 2009. It was the first of two scheduled trials for Dixon on a variety of charges. The charges stemmed from alleged corruption on the part of the mayor involving gifts she ...
—a developer who was involved in multiple corruption probes—for $1.35 million, which was 25% of the land's appraised value. In 2023, McCray amended a state bond bill to award a $1.44 million grant to an unrelated nonprofit that acted as a pass-through for Lipscomb's development, after which McCray personally presented the project to community members as affordable housing, even though Lipscomb planned to sell units at the apartment at the market rate. In an interview with ''The Baltimore Banner'', McCray said that he had zero concerns with giving state money to Lipscomb, saying that he "has to offer, at some level, some type of incentives for developers to come to my neighborhood". He also declined to describe his relationship with Lipscomb, saying that he was just a developer who works inside his district, and denied pressuring EBDI to accept Lipscomb's offer. As of June 2025, Lipscomb's proposed apartments project has not broken ground.


Acting Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party

McCray was sworn in as the acting chair of the
Maryland Democratic Party The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. The current acting state party chair is Charlene Dukes. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling a ...
on November 11, 2019, following the resignation of
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings Maya Michelle Rockeymoore Cummings (born January 31, 1971) is an American consultant, politician, and former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party in the United States. Before her election as party chair, she briefly ran for Governor of Maryl ...
, who announced her candidacy for the special election in Maryland's 7th congressional district. He opted out of running in the election for the party's new chair. During his short tenure, he alleged that the organization was overspending without strong financial controls under Cummings' leadership. To right the organization's fiscal health, he cancelled contracts with consults and recommended other fiscal controls to the Maryland State Central Committee. On December 7, 2019, the Maryland Democratic Party elected
Yvette Lewis Yvette Lewis may refer to: * Yvette Lewis (athlete) Yvette Lewis (born March 16, 1985) is a German-born American track and field athlete who competes for Panama in the 100 meter hurdles and the triple jump. She represented the United States in ...
to serve as party chairwoman again through December 2022.


Political positions


COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2021, McCray joined five other senators in delivering a letter to 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 ...
that expressed "grave concerns" over equity of the state's vaccination program rollout.


Crime

McCray was one of four senators to vote against legislation introduced in the 2020 legislative session that would provide tougher penalties for gun offenders. McCray introduced legislation in the 2022 legislative session that would require the Maryland Division of Pretrial Detention and Services to notify city police whenever someone is released on bail.


Education

McCray introduced legislation during the 2019 legislative session that would expand food stamp benefits through the summer months to students who rely on free meals from their schools. The bill passed and became law without Governor Hogan's signature.


Elections

McCray introduced legislation in the 2015 legislative session that would restore voting rights for ex-offenders. The bill passed, but was vetoed by Governor Hogan; the Maryland General Assembly voted to override the veto on February 9, 2016. McCray introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would require the Baltimore police to redraw district boundaries after each census. The bill passed and went into effect on October 1, 2019. In September 2020, McCray sent a letter to Baltimore City elections director Armstead Jones to ask for more dropoff ballot boxes to be placed in his district, saying that his district had fewer boxes compared to others and calling the placement of boxes within Baltimore "unconscionable".


Environment

In September 2019, McCray voted against a climate debate resolution at the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
, arguing that his constituents needed him to advocate for greater movement on issues like justice reform, police brutality, and economic opportunity. McCray introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would reform the Maryland Environmental Service to restrict future payouts, restructure the board and add new requirements, such as ethics training.


Minimum wage

McCray introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023. The bill passed with a full-on effective date of 2025, but was vetoed by 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 ...
on March 27, 2019. The Maryland General Assembly voted to override Hogan's veto on the bill the next day.


Policing

McCray voted in favor of legislation introduced in the 2019 legislative session that would create an armed police force at the private
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
. He also introduced legislation that would require Baltimore police leaders to live in the city. McCray introduced legislation in the 2019 legislative session that would make the
Baltimore Police Department The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterw ...
a city agency instead of a state agency. The bill did not receive a vote over reservations from other city senators. He introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would create a commission to study local control of the city police and allow voters to determine if the city government should regain control of the police department via a charter amendment during the
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
or
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
general election. The bill passed and became law.


Taxes

McCray introduced legislation in the 2020 legislative session that would increase the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.


Transportation

In 2021, McCray joined local officials in advocating for more funding to meet the
Maryland Transit Administration The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Washington†...
's maintenance and other needs. He introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would increase funding to the Maryland Transit Administration to make the state's bus system, MARC train,
Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
and
Light Rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
more safe and reliable. The bill passed the
Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...
but was vetoed by Governor Hogan on May 28, 2021. The legislature voted to override Hogan's veto during the 2021 special legislative session. McCray introduced legislation during the 2022 legislative session that would waive late fees and give Maryland residents the ability to set up payment plans for delayed
E-ZPass E-ZPass Interagency Group (E-ZPass Group trade name and E-ZPass product brand) is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the eastern half of the United States. The group itself is composed of ...
charges.


Electoral history


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCray, Cory V. 1982 births African-American state legislators in Maryland Living people Maryland Democratic Party chairs Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Baltimore Democratic Party Maryland state senators 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly