Thomas McLain "Mac" Middleton (born September 1, 1945) 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 ...

from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the

Maryland State 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 ...

from 1995 to 2019, representing Maryland's District 28 in southern

Charles County Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. The ...

Background

Middleton grew up in

La Plata, Maryland La Plata ( ) is a town in Charles County, Maryland, Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed loc ...

and attended Charles County Community College and

Mount St. Mary's College Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles (known as Mount St. Mary's College until January 2015) is a private, Catholic university primarily for women, in Los Angeles, California. Women make up 90 percent of the student body. Founded in 1925 ...

before entering the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. After his service in the United States Army (1968–1971), Middleton became the owner and operator of Cedar Hill Farm near

Waldorf, Maryland Waldorf is a census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of Southern Maryland. Its population was 81,410 at the 2020 census. Waldorf has experienced dramatic gr ...

Political career

Middleton's political career began when he was appointed to a four-year term on the Charles County Planning Commission. In 1986, he became a member of the Charles County Commission, the local legislative body for the county. He won a seat in the State Senate in the 1994 election. Middleton was the Chair of the Senate's powerful Finance Committee. He was mentioned as a possible successor to then Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. In 2005 and 2006, he co-chaired the Special Committee on Employee Rights and Protections. This panel was reportedly created to investigate state government employment actions. The administration of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., criticized the effort as a "partisan witch hunt," and a minority report claimed that "the committee's 13-month investigation of the Ehrlich administration was unnecessary, expensive and fruitless." In 2018, Middleton was ousted in the Gubernatorial Primary Election held on June 26, by a 651-vote margin, by community activist, and CPA, Arthur Ellis, a self-described progressive Democrat.

Democratic Party activist

In February 2008, Middleton endorsed the candidacy of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for president of the United States.

Legacy

In October 2018, Middleton's name was added to the

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic states. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware, at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida, at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, ...

Potomac River bridge, making it officially the Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge.

References

External links

* Democratic Party Maryland state senators Living people 1945 births United States Army soldiers People from La Plata, Maryland People from Waldorf, Maryland Mount St. Mary's University alumni 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly {{Maryland-politician-stub