Malcolm Ruff

Malcolm Peter Ruff (born April 18, 1984) is an American politician and attorney who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 41 since 2023.

Ruff is a member of the Democratic Party as well as an associate with the law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, which is managed by prominent civil rights attorney Billy Murphy Jr. He has been described as a protégé of Murphy.

Early life and education Ruff was born in Baltimore on April 18, 1984. Ruff graduated from the Gilman School in 2002, where he was considered a track and football standout. He later attended Duke University, where he played for the Duke Blue Devils football team and earned a bachelor's degree in African and African American studies in 2006. While at the University of Baltimore, he was one of only six students nationwide selected for the NAACP-Kellogg's Law Fellow program.

Legal career Ruff has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 2012. From 2014 to 2018, he worked as a trial attorney for the Saller & Biship law firm. In this position, he has represented several victims of police brutality and wrongful death matters, including in the cases of Jordan McNair, William Green, Quinton Burns, Taizier Griffin, Renardo Green, Zayne Abdullah, and Demonte Ward-Blake.

Outside of his legal career, Ruff is the founder of the Pagya Project, a non-profit to support residents of underserved communities and to address homelessness and street violence in Baltimore.

In February 2023, Ruff participated in and spoke at a Tyre Nichols protest at Festival Park in Aberdeen, Maryland, where he read a list of names of African Americans killed in police encounters and suggested that police agencies "clean house".

Political career Maryland House of Delegates Malcolm Ruff, with his family, being sworn in by House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones In May 2023, following state delegate Tony Bridges was appointed to be the assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, Ruff applied to fill the vacancy left by his resignation in the Maryland House of Delegates. In June 2023, the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee voted to send Governor Wes Moore the names of both Ruff and former state delegate Angela Gibson for consideration to fill the vacancy. He was sworn in on July 6, 2023.

House speaker Adrienne A. Jones assigned Ruff to the Appropriations Committee. He was also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the Baltimore City Delegation.

2026 Maryland Senate campaign Governor Moore speaks at Malcolm Ruff rally in Edmondson Village, Baltimore, May 18, 2026. In January 2025, after state senator Jill P. Carter resigned following her nomination to the Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals, Ruff applied to fill the remainder of Carter's term in the Maryland Senate. Ruff was backed by Carter and Baltimore lawyer Billy Murphy Jr. The Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee voted 5–3 to nominate Dalya Attar to the seat later that month. In August 2025, Ruff announced that he would run for the Maryland Senate in District 41, challenging Attar.

Baltimore Brew described Ruff as the underdog in the Democratic primary, during which Ruff touted juvenile justice bills he introduced in the General Assembly and highlighted state funding brought into the district, including toward the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park preservation project. He also sought to bring attention to Attar's federal extortion charges and received endorsements from Governor Moore, U.S. representative Kweisi Mfume, and Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott. Ruff defeated Attar in the Democratic primary election on June 23, 2026.

Political positions Crime and policing During the 2024 legislative session, Ruff was one of eight members of the Maryland House of Delegates to vote against a bill to reform the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, increase penalties for young people, and increase the number of charges kids aged 10 to 12 could face, saying that the bill would "impact the Black community in a way that is unfair".

Energy During the 2025 legislative session, Ruff supported the Next Generation Energy Act, which mandated the Maryland Public Service Commission to seek out energy generation proposals to support energy consumption on the state's highest usage days in the summer in an effort to phase out coal and gas-fired power generation in Maryland. In 2026, he voted for the Utility RELIEF Act, which prohibits energy companies from using forecast-based energy bill increases for one year and cuts funding for Maryland's EmPOWER program.

Healthcare During the 2025 legislative session, Ruff voted for legislation to allow the Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board to set upper payment limits for prescription drugs.

During the 2026 legislative session, Ruff introduced legislation to study incidents of mortgage fraud in Maryland. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Moore.