By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
For as long as Anthony Brown has run statewide, Maryland’s police union has been in his corner. That streak ended this week.
The Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police voted to endorse Republican nominee James B. Rutledge III for attorney general over incumbent Democrat Anthony Brown, according to a letter on state lodge letterhead dated Sept. 2 and a campaign press release Rutledge’s team issued Sept. 4. It is a reversal from the union’s most recent endorsements in the office’s race: Brown in 2022 and, before him, Democrat Brian Frosh in 2014.
The letter, signed by FOP 2nd Vice President and Legislative Chair Angelo L. Consoli Jr., tells Rutledge the state lodge “has overwhelmingly voted to endorse your election bid for Attorney General.” It lists Mike Mancuso as the lodge’s state president. Rutledge’s campaign says the vote happened at the union’s state conference this week in Ocean City, though the letter itself does not specify a location.
Rutledge’s campaign said he was honored by the support and framed the endorsement as recognition that officers want an attorney general who will stand with them.
“For as long as Anthony Brown has run statewide, Maryland’s police union has been in his corner. That streak ended this week.”
Who is Rutledge
Rutledge, a Harford County attorney who lives in the Bel Air area, has practiced law in Maryland since 1986, the year he earned his law degree from the University of Maryland. He picked up a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia three years earlier. That timeline lines up with the four decades of practice his campaign touts, though his claim of graduating “with Honors” comes from campaign material and has not been independently verified against law school records.
He ran unopposed in the June 23 Republican primary, taking all 161,800 votes cast. As of his last campaign finance filing, dated June 7, Rutledge had raised just over $62,000, including $25,000 of his own money, and had roughly $14,500 on hand, according to Maryland State Board of Elections figures. That is a fraction of what statewide campaigns typically spend heading into a general election, and it underscores the uphill climb Rutledge faces against an incumbent with far more institutional support. Election analysts at Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated the race Safe Democratic in an assessment dated August 2025, more than a year before this fall’s vote.
A notable break from precedent
The FOP’s move matters less for the vote count it might swing and more for the message it sends. The union has previously required a 60 percent supermajority of delegates to secure its statewide endorsements, a threshold that helped Brown win its backing in 2022. Its shift toward a Republican challenger, even a heavily underfunded one, gives Rutledge a credibility boost with an audience that does not typically break for the GOP in deep-blue Maryland.
Rutledge’s campaign has leaned into that framing, casting the AG’s race as a choice between an office focused on Washington fights and one focused on street-level public safety. “Maryland does not need an Attorney General chasing every political wind blowing out of Washington,” Rutledge said in the release.
“The FOP’s move matters less for the vote count it might swing and more for the message it sends.”
His campaign outlined a list of enforcement priorities it says will guide his term if elected:
- Prosecuting organized crime and holding adult gang members accountable for recruiting juveniles
- Combating fraud targeting seniors and other vulnerable residents
- Pursuing cyber predators
- Building what the campaign calls a “healthy working relationship” between the AG’s office and local law enforcement
- Working with state’s attorneys and law enforcement agencies of every political affiliation across Maryland
Brown, sworn in as Maryland’s 47th attorney general in January 2023, is seeking a second term. His office has built its record largely around consumer protection cases, civil rights enforcement, and a string of lawsuits against the Trump administration. Brown’s campaign did not put out a public response to the FOP endorsement as of publication.
What’s next
“A police union that backed his opponent’s party in the last two contested races for the office is backing him now.”
Maryland voters will decide the attorney general’s race on Nov. 3, alongside the governor’s race and the rest of the statewide ballot. Rutledge will need to close a wide financial and name-recognition gap between now and then, but this week’s endorsement gives his campaign a talking point it did not have before: a police union that backed his opponent’s party in the last two contested races for the office is backing him now.
Sources: This story is based on a Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police endorsement letter dated Sept. 2, 2026, and a press release issued by Friends of Jim Rutledge on Sept. 4, 2026. Background on Rutledge’s legal career and the June 23, 2026 Republican primary results comes from Maryland State Board of Elections data and prior reporting by Hoodline (May 20, 2026). Historical detail on the FOP’s past attorney general endorsements comes from Maryland Matters reporting on the union’s 2022 statewide endorsements and from the union’s own September 2014 conference recap. Campaign finance figures reflect Rutledge’s filing as of June 7, 2026. The Sabato’s Crystal Ball race rating is dated Aug. 21, 2025. Anthony Brown’s record and title were verified against the Maryland Attorney General’s office and prior MDBayNews coverage.
Keep MDBayNews Reporting Free
MDBayNews exists to help Marylanders understand decisions made by state and local leaders — especially when those decisions affect daily life, rights, and public services.
If this article helped clarify what’s happening or why it matters, reader support makes it possible to keep publishing clear, independent reporting like this.
Have a tip or documents to share?
We review submissions carefully and confidentially. Anonymous tips are welcome when appropriate.
Discover more from Maryland Bay News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.