In January 2018,at the Baltimore Women's March,Guyton announced her intent to run for state delegate,citing the 2016 presidential election as what motivated her to run for office.[4] During the primary,she enjoyed endorsements from various organizations,including the Maryland League of Conservation Voters,Metro Baltimore Council AFL–CIO,NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland,and the LiUNA Mid-Atlantic Region,and state senator James Brochin.[5] She received 48.4 percent of the vote in the 2022 Democratic primary[6] and narrowly defeated Republican Tim Robinson in the general election with 26.5 percent of the vote.[7] Mileah Kromer,a political scientist and pollster at Goucher College,suggested that Guyton's primary win indicated a polarized electorate in Maryland's 42nd district.[8]
Guyton is a developmental psychologist and disabilities advocate who has worked at various institutions relating to psychology,including the University of Iowa,the North Carolina Department of Mental Health,and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.[1] Her three sons all have disabilities,which moved her to co-found a support group for families with disabilities that has since evolved into the Mid-Atlantic chapter of the Tourette Association of America.[9] She has also used her position as state delegate to introduce several pieces of legislation that would support disabled Marylanders.[10]
In the legislature
Guyton in the Environment and Transportation Committee,2024
Guyton was sworn in as a member of the House of Delegates on January 9,2019.[1] She was floated as a potential candidate for Maryland Senate in 2022.[11] Unopposed in the Democratic primary,[12] Guyton was reelected in the 2022 general election by a more than 20% margin.[13]
Guyton was a member of the Ways and Means Committee from 2019 to 2025,[1] after which House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk named her as the vice chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee.[14] Guyton is also a member of the Women's Legislators of Maryland Caucus and the Maryland Legislative Transit Caucus.[1]
Political positions
Guyton is a self-described progressive Democrat,[8] but has expressed that she will work across the aisle to support good ideas "regardless of who is sponsoring them."[15]
Education
Guyton supports universal pre-kindergarten,boosting mental health supports in schools and improving teacher-student ratios in classrooms.[15]
Guns
In February 2020,Guyton joined seven Democratic delegates in voting against a bill that would mandate background checks on private sales and transfers of shotguns and rifles.[16]
Healthcare
Guyton supports expanding access to healthcare,saying that she "believes it really is a human right" and that single-payer healthcare is worth discussing but would have to be paid for.[15]
Minimum wage
On the campaign trail,Guyton advocated for the legislature to pass a "$15 an hour living wage with future indexed increases."[17] In March 2019,she was one of two Democrats in the Maryland House of Delegates to vote against a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.[18]
Taxes
Guyton opposes raising new taxes,instead advocating for redirecting priorities and using funding sources like lottery money and the legalization of marijuana.[15]
Electoral history
Maryland House of Delegates District 42B Democratic Primary Election,2018[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Michele Guyton
5,652
48
Democratic
Sachin Hebbar
3,293
28
Democratic
Daniel Nemec
2,744
24
Maryland House of Delegates District 42B Democratic Primary Election,2018[7]
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