Ashanti MartinezServing

Ashanti Martinez

State HouseDemocrat

MD-HD-22 State House

Age 29·Puerto Rican·Chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus (2024-present)

Why This Race Matters

Ashanti Martinez is running against Nicole Williams (D, incumbent); open third seat after Anne Healey retirement.

Martinez is the first Afro-Latino to represent District 22 and the first openly LGBTQ person from Prince George's County in the General Assembly. As Chair of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus, he is a key voice for the growing Latino community in a county where demographics are rapidly shifting. With Anne Healey retiring, this 2026 race will be his first time running as an incumbent.

Appointed by Governor Wes Moore in February 2023 after Alonzo T. Washington was elevated to State Senate. Ran for this seat twice before (2018 and 2022) before being appointed. Filed for 2026 re-election on January 12, 2026. Passed HB401 expanding hearing aid access in his first session. Co-founded PGC Pride. District 22 (Hyattsville, Greenbelt, Riverdale Park) is safely Democratic.

Key dates to watch: Primary on June 23, 2026 and General Election on November 3, 2026.

About

Ashanti Martinez is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 22 (Prince George's County), appointed by Governor Wes Moore in February 2023 to fill the vacancy left when Alonzo T. Washington was elevated to the State Senate. He made history as the first Afro-Latino to represent District 22 and the first openly LGBTQ person to represent Prince George's County in the Maryland General Assembly. A Howard University graduate and lifelong Prince George's County resident, Martinez has dedicated his career to advocacy and public service, from lobbying for immigration reform with CASA to co-founding Prince George's County Pride.

Family & Heritage

Afro-Latino of Puerto Rican descent. His family relocated from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States over sixty years ago, establishing roots in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area before his birth. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in New Carrollton, Maryland in a working-class family. A son of Prince George's County who grew up attending St. Mary's Landover Hills School and Parkdale High School.

Political Career

Before Politics

Policy analyst and advocate at CASA (immigration reform); Director of Constituent Services for Prince George's County Councilmember Tom Dernoga; Staff member for Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus in Annapolis; Congressional intern for U.S. Representatives Elijah E. Cummings and Steny Hoyer; Campaign Director for College Democrats of America at Howard University; Chief of Staff to County Councilmember Krystal Oriadha; 20/30 Leadership Council member for the Clinton Foundation

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Howard University (2018); Parkdale High School (Riverdale, MD); St. Mary's Landover Hills School

Awards & Recognition

The Root 2018 Young Futurist; Daily Record Maryland Top 40 Under 40 Very Important Professionals (2020); Prince George's County Community Advocate of the Year (Neighborhood Design Center, 2021); Top 30 Under 30 (93.9 WKYS, 2017); Forty Under 40 (Prince George's County Social Innovation Fund)

Key Issues & Priorities

*Immigration reform and immigrant protections
*LGBTQ+ rights and equality
*Affordable housing and stabilizing housing costs
*Healthcare access (authored HB401 expanding hearing aid access)
*Food insecurity and stopping corporate price gouging
*Road and infrastructure improvements
*Economic justice for working-class families

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