Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall explores run for Maryland’s 1st District
Two-term Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall is considering a run for the Democratic nomination to oppose incumbent Republican Rep. Andy Harris for Maryland’s 1st Congressional District seat.
Four other Democrats have already filed to run: George M. Walish Jr., Terrence Rogers, Dan Schwartz and Randi White. Only Walish, a former St. Michaels commissioner, has prior elected experience. Maryland Matters reported in May that Maryland Housing Secretary Jake Day, a former Salisbury mayor, is also considering a bid.
Tyndall, a Berlin native and former firefighter and paramedic, announced Aug. 26 that he had formed an exploratory committee and would not seek a third mayoral term. The 1st District covers the Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties.
He said he’ll decide in the coming weeks whether to formally enter the race via the Democratic primary, and that his campaign would center on health care access, cost of living and jobs on the Eastern Shore.
Harris, the state’s only Republican representative to Congress, has won every general election since 2011 by more than 11 percentage points – and he carried the district by more than 40 points in 2014.
Tyndall, 35, said his background outside partisan politics could help him break through.
“I’ve never been entrenched in party,” he said. “I take ideas on their merit. That’s what’s been missing in this race – a focus on good ideas, not party lines.”
He also made clear he opposes any mid-decade effort to redraw Maryland’s congressional map to favor Democrats.
“The maps were redrawn in 2022 following a court decision,” he said. “I don’t support coming back to retackle them before the census. The 1st District should stay as it is until new census data comes out.”
Tyndall expects to decide within 30 days whether to officially launch a campaign. “I’d say another two or three weeks to look at where we stand with the data and make a determination,” he said. “I’m optimistic.”
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