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Rachel Muñoz

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Rachel Muñoz
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 8, 2021
Serving with Nic Kipke and Brian Chisholm
Appointed byLarry Hogan
Preceded byMichael E. Malone
Constituency
Personal details
Born (1986-11-24) November 24, 1986 (age 38)
Fort Lewis, Washington, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children6
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)
University of Maryland, Baltimore (JD)

Rachel Parker Muñoz (born November 24, 1986) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she initially represented the 33rd district from 2021 to 2023, and has since represented the 31st district.[1]

Background

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Muñoz was born on November 24, 1986, at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington.[1] She was raised in Severna Park, Maryland,[2] where she graduated from Severna Park High School and later attended the University of Maryland, College Park, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2009. She then graduated from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 2021 with a Juris Doctor degree.[1]

Muñoz served as a law clerk at Simons & Campbell in 2019,[1] afterwards working as an editor of the Maryland Journal of International Law from 2019 to 2021.[3] She was a law clerk at Schulte Booth PC from 2021 to 2022, afterwards starting her own law firm, Munoz & Mackenzie.[1]

In the legislature

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In June 2021, Muñoz announced that she would run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 33, and officially filed her candidacy a week later.[4] In August, following the resignation of state delegate Michael E. Malone to serve as a state circuit court judge, she applied to serve the remainder of his term in the Maryland House of Delegates. Her candidacy quickly gained the support of state senator Edward R. Reilly and state delegate Nic Kipke,[5] and she was nominated to fill the vacancy by the Anne Arundel County Republican Central Committee in October.[6] Muñoz was appointed to the Maryland House of Delegates by Governor Larry Hogan on November 4,[7] and was sworn in on November 8.[1] She ran for election to a full four-year term in District 31 and won election in November 2022.[8]

Muñoz has served as a member of the Judiciary Committee during her entire tenure.[1] In 2023, Muñoz was nominated for a position on the Women's Caucus of Maryland's executive board, but declined the nomination after consulting with her Republican colleagues.[9]

Muñoz missed nearly 35 percent of House roll call votes during the 2024 legislative session, which she attributed to health-related issues and discovering that she was pregnant.[10] In September 2024, she announced that she would resign from the Maryland House of Delegates on January 1, 2025, to "spend more time with my young family".[11]

Personal life

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Muñoz's family at an Easter celebration at the Government House, 2024

Muñoz is married and has six children.[10]

In April 2023, Muñoz was diagnosed with melanoma, which was removed during surgery in the following month.[12]

Political positions

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Muñoz supports efforts to discourage illegal immigration and opposes providing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded benefits.[4]

In March 2022, during debate on the Abortion Care Access Act, Muñoz proposed an amendment that would ban abortions after 24 weeks. The amendment was rejected by a 40-85 vote.[13]

During the 2023 legislative session, Muñoz backed legislation to repeal the Juvenile Justice Reform Act, a bill that was introduced and passed in the previous year's legislative session that restricted the state's ability to charge juveniles for most offenses,[14] and introduced a bill that would make firearm theft a felony.[15] She also introduced a bill that would ban TikTok on state-owned devices and networks, which passed the House of Delegates but did not receive a vote in the state Senate.[16]

During the 2024 legislative session, Muñoz introduced the Gun Theft Felony Act, which would make possessing a stolen firearm a felony offense.[10]

Electoral history

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Maryland House of Delegates District 31 Republican primary election, 2022[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nic Kipke (incumbent) 8,764 33.0
Republican Brian Chisholm (incumbent) 8,261 31.1
Republican Rachel Muñoz (incumbent) 7,067 26.6
Republican LaToya Nkongolo 2,465 9.3
Maryland House of Delegates District 31 election, 2022[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Nic Kipke (incumbent) 28,518 22.2
Republican Brian Chisholm (incumbent) 27,570 21.5
Republican Rachel Muñoz (incumbent) 26,117 20.4
Democratic Kevin Burke 19,953 15.6
Democratic Milad Pooran 17,213 15.6
Libertarian Travis S. Lerol 8,509 6.6
Write-in 356 0.3

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Rachel P. Munoz, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. February 28, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Jones, Natalie (September 9, 2024). "Anne Arundel Republican Del. Rachel Muñoz to step down in January". The Capital. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Members - Delegate Rachel Munoz". Maryland General Assembly Home Page. General Assembly Of Maryland. March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Romano, Ada (June 9, 2021). "New Republican candidate to run for delegate; Sen. Ed Reilly files for reelection". The Capital. Annapolis, Maryland. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  5. ^ Kurtz, Josh (September 14, 2021). "In Changing Anne Arundel District, GOP Leaders Embrace Lawyer to Replace Del. Malone". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Kurtz, Josh (October 27, 2021). "Anne Arundel GOP Nominates Muñoz to Fill Malone's Seat in the House". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "Gov. Hogan appoints delegates to two open seats in Anne Arundel, Prince George's counties". The Baltimore Sun. November 4, 2021. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  8. ^ Munro, Dana (November 12, 2022). "Incumbent General Assembly candidates in Anne Arundel County lead after first day of mail-in ballot counting". The Capital. Annapolis, Maryland. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  9. ^ Kurtz, Josh (April 7, 2023). "Legislative women's caucus still divided — only Democrats installed on executive board". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Collins, Gary (September 5, 2024). "Anne Arundel legislator stepping down amid health struggles, pregnancy". WBFF. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  11. ^ Ford, William J.; Kurtz, Josh (September 5, 2024). "Muñoz quits House, Huntley steps up to council, Boafo launches federal PAC, more moves". Maryland Matters. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Ford, William J. (May 8, 2023). "Del. Muñoz recovers from cancer surgery". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  13. ^ Gaskill, Hannah (March 10, 2022). "After Republican Amendment Attempts, House Moves Forward with Abortion Access Bills". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  14. ^ Parker, Luke (January 26, 2023). "Anne Arundel Police complaints against reform are latest chapter in Maryland's troubled history with youth justice". The Capital. Annapolis, Maryland. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  15. ^ Ford, William J. (March 3, 2023). "House, Senate Republicans urge Democratic colleagues to 'take action' to combat violent crime". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  16. ^ Ford, William J. (March 21, 2023). "Lawmakers churn through hundreds of bills on drama-free 'Crossover Day'". Maryland Matters. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  17. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. August 24, 2022.
  18. ^ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.
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