Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2026 - Stanford Fraser, Maryland House of Delegates District 24

This year is the quadrennial election for all state legislative positions in Maryland. One of the features of Maryland’s House of Delegates is that in many districts, there can be multiple representatives. In District 24, which covers part of Prince George’s County, three delegates are elected, but this year there is a field of seven candidates.

One of those candidates is Stanford Fraser (he/him), a Black millennial public defender. A graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC and Harvard Law School, Stanford is a die-hard Game of Thrones fan and Pokemon card collector. He has testified to the state government regarding legislation to ban no-knock warrants, require body cameras for police, and decriminalize drug possession. A former Amnesty International volunteer, he organized area college students and led protests to abolish Maryland’s death penalty, which Maryland did that same year. Today, Stanford’s platform rests on the pillars of criminal justice reform, overhauling healthcare, and lowering utility bills for Prince George’s residents.

Where are you based?
Prince George’s County Maryland

What position are you running for?
House of Delegates in Prince Geroge’s County — basically our version of the state house or “state representative”

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
My years of being a public defender has shown me the needs of my community. I’m running to lower the costs of living, improve education, and improve the environment while reinvigorating our economy.

What inspired you to run?
The reason I’m running is the same reason I’m a lawyer. I was inspired to enter the legal profession as a elementary school student learning about Thurgood Marshall during Black History Month. The story of him using his law degree to change society made me want to be a lawyer. After law school, instead of joining a fancy firm, I came back home to Prince George’s to be a public defender. Because I wanted to use my degree to help people in my community. My campaign is based on that same desire to serve my community.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
My greatest desire is to bring public health responders for non violent calls for service. Right now, police officers respond to calls like a shirtless guy sleeping on the sidewalk and a call for active violent robbery in progress. But I believe we should send an emt and a social worker to the man sleeping as a better way to use our public safety resources. This would dramatically change public safety in my community.

What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
Over the last nine years I’ve hosted or volunteered in numerous expungement clinics. These clinincs helps individuals get a fresh start so they can get new jobs and support their families. That is my greatest accomplishment.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
The most important issue right now is lowering the cost of living. Families are being squeezed by inflation, high gas prices, and an anemic job market.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
Listening. As cheesy as it sounds, listening. One of my favorite books is getting to yes. It’s a book about negotiation. And one of the stories is about a mom who comes down to the kitchen as her kids were arguing over an orange. The mom is frustrated and annoyed, it’s not grocery day, so she is about to just cut the orange in half… but then she asks a question; why do you want the orange? One child says they was to bake an orange tart and need to shave the orange skin for flavoring. And the other child says they want to eat the orange as a snack. So the mom peels the orange and gives one kid 100% of the skin while the other kid got to eat the whole orange. So both kids got 100% of what they wanted. That only happened because the mom asked a question and listened for an answer. I’ll bring that lesson to the legislature.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
I’m a public defender who lives in the community I work in. I shop and drive by the same locations of my cases. I run into clients and jurors and victims at eh grocery store. I will bring this unique experience to the legislature.

What is your motto in life?
I have two: Control what you can control and just be 1% better today than you were yesterday.

Where can we find out more about you?
You can check out my website at stanfordfraser.com or you can put look for my episodes on another not guilty.

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