Carl W. Jackson

Carl W. Jackson (born October 27, 1984) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland Senate representing the 8th district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2019 to 2025.

Background Jackson was born in Baltimore, Maryland on October 27, 1984. He graduated from Overlea High School in Baltimore County, Maryland and attended Strayer University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a B.S. degree in business administration in 2008 and a M.B.A degree in 2017. He worked as an administrative analyst for the University of Maryland School of Social Work and served as a member of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Staff Senate from 2014 to 2019.

Jackson was called to politics by President Barack Obama exhortation at the end of his second term that young people interested in making a change should run for office. He entertained his political appetite by volunteering for the campaign of Jon Ossoff in the 2017 Georgia's 6th congressional district special election.

Jackson was an unsuccessful candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 8, a district that was seen as one of the swingiest of the state's swing districts. He prevailed in the Democratic primary, receiving 24.8 percent of the vote, and he also later joined the Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee at the suggestion of county councilwoman Cathy Bevins. His candidacy was endorsed by Olszewski, state senator Kathy Klausmeier, Bromwell, state delegate Harry Bhandari, and Bevins.

In the legislature

Jackson was sworn in on October 21, 2019, to fill a vacancy in District 8 of the Maryland House of Delegates. He was assigned to the House Economics Matters Committee and is a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the Legislative Transit Caucus. His candidacy was backed by U.S. representative Johnny Olszewski, state delegate Nick Allen, and multiple local labor unions. He was appointed by Governor Wes Moore and sworn in on February 5, 2025, becoming the first African-American person to represent the 8th district in the Maryland Senate. The bill passed the House of Delegates by a vote of 130–6.

In March 2026, during debate on a bill to repeal the practice of automatically charging youth as adults for certain crimes, Jackson was one of two Democrats to support a Republican amendment to the bill that would require youth charged with first-degree murder to be tried in adult courts. He voted against the bill on final passage.

Education During the 2021 legislative session, Jackson a bill that would ban registered sex offenders from being students inside public schools. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Hogan on May 18, 2021.

During the 2022 legislative session, Jackson introduced a bill that would require schools to release air quality reports.

During the 2026 legislative session, Jackson introduced legislation that would expand the Baltimore County inspector general's oversight authority to include Baltimore County Public Schools.

Guns In February 2020, Jackson joined six other Democrats in voting against legislation that would mandate background checks on private sales and transfers of shotguns and rifles.

Immigration During the 2026 legislative session, Jackson was one of two Democratic state senators to vote against the Community Trust Act, which would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to present a judicial warrant to hold someone and only allows for someone to be detained for ICE in a state or local correctional facility if the person was convicted of a felony, is a registered sex offender, served between 12 and 18 months in a state prison, or committed an offense in another state and served at least five years in prison.

Redistricting In February 2026, Jackson said he opposed pursuing mid-decade redistricting in Maryland and opposed holding a vote on a bill that would redraw Maryland's congressional districts to improve the Democratic Party's chances of winning the 1st congressional district, the only congressional district held by Republicans in the state.

Taxes In February 2021, Jackson joined eight other Democrats in voting against overriding a gubernatorial veto on a bill that would levy a tax on digital advertising on large tech companies.

Electoral history