{{Short description|American politician (born 1972)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Christopher T. Adams | image = Christopher Adams (51587807421) (cropped).jpg | caption = Adams in 2021 | state_delegate= Maryland | district = 37B | term_start = January 14, 2015 | term_end = | predecessor = Adelaide C. Eckardt | party = Republican | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|6|19}} | birth_place = Salisbury, Maryland, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | alma_mater = Salisbury University (BS, MBA) | spouse = | children = 3 }}
'''Christopher T. Adams''' (born June 19, 1972) is an American politician who has served as a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 37B, since 2015.<ref name="msa">{{cite web |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa17076.html |title=Christopher T. Adams, Maryland State Delegate |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=Maryland State Archives |date=December 22, 2021 |access-date=December 31, 2021}}</ref>
==Early life and career== Adams was born on June 19, 1972, in Salisbury, Maryland, where he attended Wicomico High School in 1990. He graduated from Salisbury University with a Bachelor of Science in business management in 1994 and a M.B.A. in 1996.<ref name="msa" /><ref name="Bollinger"/> A fifth generation Eastern Shore native,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rodgers |first1=Jack |title=Del. Chris Adams seeking re-election |url=https://www.myeasternshoremd.com/dorchester_star/news/del-chris-adams-seeking-re-election/article_644889c5-6c62-5119-b5c1-e0f01c92e045.html |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=Dorchester Star |date=October 26, 2018}}</ref> he is married and has three children.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/adams01 |title=Delegate Christopher T. Adams |website=Maryland General Assembly |date=December 28, 2021 |access-date=December 31, 2021}}</ref>
Adams worked as a salesman from 1992 to 1995 and sales manager from 1995 to 2001 at Value Carpet One. He has served as president of Value Carpet One since 2001.<ref name="msa" />
In October 2013, Adams declared his candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates.<ref name="Bollinger">{{cite news |last1=Bollinger |first1=Josh |title=Wicomico man enters 37B House race |url=https://www.stardem.com/news/local_news/wicomico-man-enters-37b-house-race/article_daa948ae-e822-59cf-b765-d3750c0ff9a5.html |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=The Star Democrat |date=October 31, 2013}}</ref> He prevailed in the Republican primary alongside Johnny Mautz, earning 24.5 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mautz, Adams victorious in 37B delegate GOP primary |url=https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2014/06/24/b-delegate-republican-primary/11341957/ |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=Delmarvanow |date=June 24, 2014}}</ref> He won the general election with 30.3 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bollinger |first1=Josh |title=Mid-Shore seats changing hands |url=https://www.stardem.com/extras/elections/mid-shore-seats-changing-hands/article_a0a7589d-9495-59ec-ab9e-abfd9e6cbb25.html |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=The Star Democrat |date=November 6, 2014}}</ref>
==In the legislature== thumb|Adams in the House Economic Matters Committee, 2025 Adams has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since January 14, 2015, representing District 37B.<ref name="msa" /> He served as the House minority whip from April through December 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gaines |first1=Danielle E. |title=House GOP Picks Buckel, Adams as New Leaders |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/04/13/house-gop-picks-buckel-adams-as-new-leaders/ |access-date=December 31, 2021 |work=Maryland Matters |date=April 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=After Recent Rift, House GOP Re-Elects Buckel as Leader, Taps Shoemaker as Whip |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/12/30/after-recent-rift-house-gop-re-elects-buckel-as-leader-taps-shoemaker-as-whip/ |access-date=December 31, 2021 |work=Maryland Matters |date=December 30, 2021}}</ref>
In 2018, Maryland Matters listed Adams as one of the ten most vulnerable House incumbents in the June 2018 General Assembly primaries.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Here are the 10 Most Vulnerable House Incumbents in This Month's Primaries |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2018/06/12/here-are-the-10-most-vulnerable-house-incumbents-in-this-month-39-s-primaries/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=June 12, 2018}}</ref> Adams would survive his primary with 29.9 percent of the vote<ref name="2018 primary"/> and would be re-elected with 33.9 percent of the vote in the general election.<ref name="2018 general"/>
===Committee assignments=== * Economics Matters Committee, 2015–present (business regulation subcommittee, 2015–present; property & casualty insurance subcommittee, 2015–2018; unemployment insurance subcommittee, 2015–2018; banking, consumer protection & commercial law subcommittee, 2019–present) * Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, 2021 * Legislative Policy Committee, 2021
===Other memberships=== * Deputy Minority Whip, 2021 * Minority Whip, 2021 * House Chair, Dorchester County Delegation, 2015–present * Member, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, 2015–present * Maryland Veterans Caucus, 2015–present (house executive board, 2016–present)
==Political positions== Adams is a self-described constitutional conservative who believes that the Constitution should be the basis for which lawmakers operate.<ref name="Bollinger"/>
===Economy=== In 2019, Adams voted to sustain Governor Larry Hogan's veto on legislation that would increase the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gamard |first1=Sarah |last2=Swann |first2=Sara |title=On $15 minimum wage and school start date, Shore lawmakers back Hogan |url=https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2019/03/28/maryland-15-minimum-wage-and-school-start-date-governor-larry-hogan-veto-shore-lawmakers/3301841002/ |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=Delmarvanow |date=March 28, 2019}}</ref>
Adams opposed legislation introduced in the 2021 legislative session that would require government-funded construction projects to pay prevailing wages on contracts over $250,000 or when at least 25% of a project's construction costs are from state funds, arguing that the bill would hurt small, minority- and women-owned contractors the most and raise costs for smaller governments. The Maryland General Assembly voted along party lines to override Governor Hogan's veto on the bill in April 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gaines |first1=Danielle E. |last2=Gaskill |first2=Hannah |title=The General Assembly Overrode Hogan's Vetoes of Police Reform Bills. We Break Down the Votes |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/04/10/the-general-assembly-overrode-hogans-vetoes-of-police-reform-bills-we-break-down-the-votes/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=April 10, 2021}}</ref>
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams defended Governor Hogan's decision to cut federal unemployment benefits, saying that the most direct way to get money to people "is to put them back on the payroll working".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Knezevich |first1=Alison |title=Hogan administration defends decision to cut federal unemployment benefits |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-lawmakers-unemployment-20210608-kfwzbsx5wvb6zkylvehlidbgb4-story.html |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=June 8, 2021}}</ref>
===Environment=== [[File:Board of Public Works (54154133273).jpg|thumb|Hartman testifies to the Maryland Board of Public Works against US Wind's proposals to build a wind farm off the coast of Ocean City, 2024]] During his 2014 campaign, Adams said that he supports initiatives aimed at restoring wetlands, eliminating raw sewage discharge, cleaning Maryland's headwaters, dredging the Conowingo Reservoir, and improving wastewater treatment plants in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as a means of improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.<ref>{{cite news |title=District 37B House candidates on poultry, bay |url=https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/opinion/2014/06/10/poultry-bay/10308531/ |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=Delmarvanow |date=June 10, 2014}}</ref>
Adams introduced legislation during the 2018 legislative session that would have prohibited the construction of a wind farm 30 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland. The bill received an unfavorable committee report.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dance |first1=Scott |title=Ocean City's effort to keep windmills far offshore fails as Maryland delegates reject proposal |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/environment/bs-md-offshore-wind-distance-20180312-story.html |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=March 12, 2018}}</ref>
During the 2019 legislative session, Adams was one of ten delegates who voted against the Clean Energy Jobs Act, a bill that would require electric utilities use 50 percent renewable energy by 2030.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Only in Annapolis: Could a DWI Conviction Be Good for the Environment? |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/03/13/only-in-annapolis-could-a-dwi-conviction-be-good-for-the-environment/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=March 13, 2019}}</ref> Adams was one of six Republican delegates to receive a score of 0 percent on the annual Maryland League of Conservation Voters scorecard.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=Md. Environmental Scorecard Finds a Lot to Like |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/10/03/md-environmental-scorecard-finds-a-lot-to-like/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=October 3, 2019}}</ref>
Adams proposed an amendment to a water contamination bill introduced during the 2021 legislative session that would have blocked the bill from taking effect without greater guidance from state and federal environmental regulators. The amendment failed to pass in a vote on 42-89.<ref>{{cite news |last1=DePuyt |first1=Bruce |last2=Kurtz |first2=Josh |last3=Leckrone |first3=Bennett |title=As House Pushes Through Dozens of Bills, Lawmakers Temporarily Fall Down a Deep Well |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/03/22/as-house-pushes-through-dozens-of-bills-lawmakers-temporarily-fall-down-a-deep-well/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=March 22, 2021}}</ref>
===Healthcare=== Adams proposed an amendment to prescription drug pricing legislation passed during the 2019 legislative session that would have set up a pharmacy benefits manager for the state. The amendment failed to pass in a vote on 39-95.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh |title=House Dems Fight Off GOP Amendments on Prescription Drug Bill |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/03/26/house-dems-fight-off-gop-amendments-on-prescription-drug-bill/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=March 26, 2019}}</ref>
During the 2021 legislative session, Adams voted against legislation that would provide free menstrual products in school bathrooms.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spector |first1=Candice |title=Shore delegates oppose free menstrual products in school bathrooms |url=https://www.stardem.com/news/local_news/shore-delegates-oppose-free-menstrual-products-in-school-bathrooms/article_542c3ecb-9678-5935-ada8-ef6b679f7915.html |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=The Star Democrat |date=March 2, 2021}}</ref>
===Housing=== During the 2016 legislative session, Adams introduced a bill that would allow counties to reverse a state rule requiring fire sprinklers to be installed on new and renovated single-family homes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cox |first1=Jeremy |title=Eastern Shore lawmaker files fire sprinkler bill |url=https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2015/11/10/sprinkler-bill/75525090/ |access-date=February 23, 2022 |work=Delmarvanow |date=November 10, 2015}}</ref>
During the 2021 legislative session, Adams opposed a bill that increased filing fees for cases other than summary ejectments in the state's district courts from $18 to $28,saying that the fee increase was a "slap in the face" for Maryland landlords alongside other tenant relief proposals.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Leckrone |first1=Bennett |title=House Passes Tenant Right to Counsel Proposal After Republican Objections |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/03/18/house-passes-tenant-right-to-counsel-proposal-after-republican-objections/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=March 18, 2021}}</ref>
During the 2026 legislative session, Adams criticized a bill that would allow affordable housing construction on state-owned land close to mass transit areas, saying that the bill could be costly to the state due to a provision that recommends the use of project labor agreements on state housing projects.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chingarande |first1=Tinashe |title=Lawmakers worry Gov. Wes Moore's housing agenda overrides local authority |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/03/03/lawmakers-worry-gov-wes-moores-housing-agenda-overrides-local-authority/ |access-date=March 9, 2026 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=March 3, 2026}}</ref> He also opposed a bill that would prohibit landlords from evicting a tenant without just cause.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Danielle J. |title=House again passes 'good cause' eviction bill, but hurdles remain in Senate |url=https://marylandmatters.org/2026/04/07/house-again-passes-good-cause-eviction-bill-but-hurdles-remain-in-senate/ |access-date=April 8, 2026 |work=Maryland Matters |date=April 7, 2026}}</ref>
===Redistricting=== During the 2021 special legislative session, Adams supported the congressional redistricting maps proposed by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission appointed by Governor Hogan.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ryan |first1=Kate |title=Redistricting top agenda item for Maryland lawmakers during special session |url=https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/12/redistricting-top-agenda-item-for-maryland-lawmakers-during-special-session/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=WTOP-FM |date=December 4, 2021}}</ref> In December 2021, Adams joined delegate Kathy Szeliga and Fair Maps Maryland in filing a lawsuit against Maryland's new congressional maps, alleging they violated the state constitution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Leckrone |first1=Bennett |title=Second Lawsuit Filed Over Maryland's New Congressional Districting Map |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/12/23/second-lawsuit-filed-over-marylands-new-congressional-districting-map/ |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Maryland Matters |date=December 23, 2021}}</ref> In January 2026, Adams opposed a congressional redistricting map recommended by the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission, which would redraw Maryland's 1st congressional district to increase the Democratic Party's chances of winning it, saying that the map would disenfranchise voters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Katharine |title=Maryland redistricting: A matchup between Sarah Elfreth and Andy Harris? |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/21/maryland-redistricting-a-matchup-between-sarah-elfreth-and-andy-harris/ |access-date=January 21, 2026 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=January 21, 2026}}</ref>
==Personal life== Adams is a fan of the Washington Commanders.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kurtz |first1=Josh Kurtz |last2=Ford |first2=William J. |last3=Brown |first3=Danielle J. |title=Football fans commandeer the House, Moore's team grows, fair wage turns to voters, more notes |url=https://marylandmatters.org/2025/01/24/football-fans-commandeer-the-house-moores-team-grows-fair-wage-turns-to-voters-more-notes/ |access-date=January 24, 2025 |work=Maryland Matters |date=January 24, 2025}}</ref>
==Electoral history== {| class="wikitable" |+ Maryland House of Delegates District 37B Republican Primary Election, 2014<ref>{{cite web |title=Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2014/results/primary/gen_results_2014_1_01637B.html |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |date=July 16, 2014}}</ref> |- !Party !Candidate !Votes !% |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Johnny Mautz''' |5,896 |36 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Christopher T. Adams''' |4,030 |25 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |Rene Desmarais |3,082 |19 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |Karen Tolley |1,850 |11 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |Allen Nelson |1,604 |10 |} {| class="wikitable" |+ Maryland House of Delegates District 37B General Election, 2014<ref>{{cite web |title=Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2014/results/General/gen_results_2014_2_01637B.html |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |date=December 2, 2014}}</ref> |- !Party !Candidate !Votes !% |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Johnny Mautz''' |21,057 |40 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Christopher T. Adams''' |16,046 |30 |-{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic |Keasha N. Haythe |7,957 |15 |-{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic |Rodney Benjamin |7,852 |15 |-{{Party shading/Other}} |Other/Write-in |Other/Write-in |27 |0 |} {| class="wikitable" |+ Maryland House of Delegates District 37B Republican Primary Election, 2018<ref name="2018 primary">{{cite web |title=Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2018/results/primary/gen_results_2018_1_01637B.html |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |date=July 31, 2018}}</ref> |- !Party !Candidate !Votes !% |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Johnny Mautz''' |6,937 |51 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Christopher T. Adams''' |4,102 |30 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |Keith Graffius |2,008 |15 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |Mimi Gedamu |680 |5 |} {| class="wikitable" |+ Maryland House of Delegates District 37B General Election, 2018<ref name="2018 general">{{cite web |title=Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates |url=https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2018/results/general/gen_results_2018_2_01637B.html |publisher=Maryland State Board of Elections |date=December 11, 2018}}</ref> |- !Party !Candidate !Votes !% |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Christopher T. Adams''' |25,031 |44 |-{{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican |'''Johnny Mautz''' |19,498 |34 |-{{Party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic |Dan O'Hare |12,796 |22 |-{{Party shading/Other}} |Other/Write-in |Other/Write-in |128 |0 |}
==References== {{reflist}} {{Maryland House of Delegates}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *{{Ballotpedia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Christopher T.}} Category:Living people Category:1972 births Category:People from Salisbury, Maryland Category:Salisbury University alumni Category:Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Category:Businesspeople from Maryland Category:21st-century members of the Maryland General Assembly