Susan Wolf Turnbull (born November 2, 1952) is an American politician. She was the Democratic nominee for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in the

2018 Maryland gubernatorial election The 2018 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018. The date included the election of the Governor of Maryland, governor, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, lieutenant governor, and all members of the Maryland General Assembl ...

, alongside candidate for governor

Ben Jealous Benjamin Todd Jealous (born January 18, 1973) is an American civil rights leader, environmentalist and executive director of the Sierra Club. He served as the president and chief executive officer of the National Association for the Advancement ...

. Previously, she served as 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 ...

and vice chair of 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 ...

Education

Turnbull earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

from

Marymount University Marymount University is a Private university, private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington County, Virginia, United States. It was founded as Marymount College in 1950. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degre ...

, 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 ...

in community services and urban affairs from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

urban studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities and regions—it makes up the theory portion of the field of urban planning. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to th ...

from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

Career

Turnbull was a member of the Hillel board of directors from 2008 to 2012. On behalf of Hillel, she was the featured speaker at numerous Campus Hillel communities across the country from 2004 to 2008. Turnbull was an officer and board member of the

Jewish Social Service Agency Jewish Social Service Agency provides nonsectarian services including temporary home care for people in recovery, consultation for long-term care planning, and Case management (USA health system), case management.Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

's Board of Directors from 1984 to 2012. Turnbull serves on the board of the University of Maryland Institute for Citizenship and Politics and the board of the

Jewish Community Relations Council A Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is a locally based Jewish public affairs organization that carries out "action agendas on behalf of and in the name of the local Jewish communities." Councils may aim "to represent the consensus of the or ...

of Greater

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, D.C. She also served as chair of

Jewish Women International Jewish Women International (JWI) is a Jewish-American social service organization founded in 1897 by American Jewish women associated with B'nai B'rith, an international Jewish social service organization. The organization's mission is described ...

from 2009 to 2013 and has been a member of the Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations since 2009. From 1992 to 2011, Turnbull was a member of the

(DNC), serving as vice chair from 2005 to 2009 and deputy chair from 2003 to 2005. Previously, she was the chair of both the DNC Women's

Caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

and DNC Women's Leadership Forum. From 2009 to 2011, Turnbull chaired the

and led the Maryland Democrats to a reelection victories for

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

governor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

and Senator

Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she also served i ...

. During her tenure at the DNC, Turnbull was a regular political commentator on

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

and

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

from 1998 to 2010, as well as a guest on over 500

radio shows A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

. She was a principal speaker at events in more than 35 states and several foreign countries on behalf of the DNC and three presidential campaigns. She previously served as the chair of the

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

Board of Zoning Appeals Zoning is a law that divides a jurisdiction's land into districts, or zones, and limits how land in each district can be used. In the United States, zoning includes various land use laws enforced through the Police power (United States constituti ...

. On November 29, 2017,

, candidate for the Democratic nomination for Maryland governor in the 2018 election, announced the selection of Turnbull as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

Personal life

Turnbull lives in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, with her husband Bruce, an attorney. They have two adult sons.

Sources

Maryland Democratic Party Bio for Susan Turnbull

References

External links

Jewish Women International
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Turnbull, Susan 1952 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century Maryland politicians 21st-century American women politicians Jewish American people in Maryland politics Living people Maryland Democratic Party chairs Marymount University alumni Politicians from Bethesda, Maryland University of Cincinnati alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni Women in Maryland politics