Senator Antonio Hayes Contact information

Antonio Lamar Hayes was born on December 9, 1977, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was raised by his grandmother and grew up in Baltimore. He attended Frostburg State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in political science in 2000.

Hayes began his political career as a legislative aide to Delegate Salima Siler Marriott of Baltimore from 2000 to 2002. He then served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the City Council President of Baltimore City from 2003 to 2006. Following this, he was the Assistant Deputy Mayor of Administration from 2007 to 2010.

Since 2010, Hayes has served as the Chief of Staff of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 40 from 2015 to 2019.

In 2014, Hayes defeated two-term incumbent Shawn Z. Tarrant to win a seat in the House of Delegates. He was sworn in on January 14, 2015. On July 29, 2017, Hayes announced his bid for State Senate, challenging appointed state Senator Barbara A. Robinson for the seat formerly held by Mayor Catherine Pugh. He defeated Robinson in the Democratic primary, earning 65.4 percent of the vote. He ultimately won the general election unchallenged and took office on January 9, 2019.

Following the death of U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings in October 2019, Hayes was seen as a possible candidate in the subsequent special election. However, he later announced that he would not run for the seat. In 2020, Hayes ran for national delegate pledged to Joe Biden in Maryland’s 7th congressional district at the Democratic National Convention. He won the primary election, receiving 18.4 percent of the vote.

Hayes has served on several committees during his time in the legislature. These include the Finance Committee, the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, the Joint Committee on Unemployment Insurance Oversight, and the Executive Nominations Committee. He has also served as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorders and as the Chair of the Baltimore City Senate Delegation.

Hayes is a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and has served as the Vice-Chair of the Democratic Party Caucus. He has also been a member of the Maryland Medicaid Advisory Committee and the West North Avenue Development Authority. He was part of the Steering Committee for the Governor-elect’s Transition Team in 2022.