James B. Kraft
James Kraft is a former member of the Baltimore City Council in Maryland, representing District 1. He was elected to the council in 2004 and served until 2016.[1]
Kraft was a candidate for the Eighth Circuit Court in Maryland.[2] He was successful in the Republican primary on April 26, 2016, but withdrew from the race in September. "I looked at how the election was conducted and looked at how the general election was going to be," he said. "I knew there was no way I could win in November."[3]
Elections
2016
Maryland held general elections for local judicial offices on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on April 26, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 3, 2016.[4] The following candidates ran in the Maryland 8th Circuit Court primary election for Baltimore City.[2]
| Maryland 8th Circuit Court (Baltimore City), Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Shannon E. Avery Incumbent |
16.59% | 81,236 |
| Cynthia H. Jones Incumbent |
15.32% | 74,999 |
| Karen Friedman Incumbent |
14.64% | 71,697 |
| Wanda Keyes Heard Incumbent |
14.38% | 70,421 |
| Audrey J. S. Carrion Incumbent |
13.63% | 66,718 |
| Michael A. DiPietro Incumbent |
13.18% | 64,554 |
| James B. Kraft | 6.74% | 33,011 |
| Todd Oppenheim | 5.52% | 27,023 |
| Total Votes | 489,659 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Judge of the Circuit Court," May 31, 2016 | ||
| Maryland 8th Circuit Court (Baltimore City), Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Michael A. DiPietro Incumbent |
16.63% | 4,902 |
| Shannon E. Avery Incumbent |
14.79% | 4,359 |
| Karen Friedman Incumbent |
12.41% | 3,656 |
| Cynthia H. Jones Incumbent |
12.24% | 3,608 |
| Audrey J. S. Carrion Incumbent |
12.09% | 3,563 |
| James B. Kraft |
11.34% | 3,341 |
| Wanda Keyes Heard Incumbent | 10.29% | 3,033 |
| Todd Oppenheim | 10.20% | 3,006 |
| Total Votes | 29,468 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Official 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Judge of the Circuit Court," May 31, 2016 | ||
Selection method
- See also: Assisted appointment
The 152 judges of the eight Maryland circuits are chosen by the governor with help from a nominating commission. The judges of this court do not need to be confirmed by the Maryland State Senate.[5][6]
Circuit judges serve for one year, after which they must run in nonpartisan elections if they wish to continue serving.[7] If re-elected, they serve for 15 years.[5][6]
The chief judge of each circuit court is chosen by seniority.[5]
Qualifications
To join either of these courts, a judge must be:[5]
- a U.S. and state citizen;
- a registered state voter;
- a state resident for at least five years;
- a circuit resident for at least six months;
- a state bar member;
- at least 30 years old; and
- under the age of 70 (retirement at 70 is mandatory).
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "James + Kraft + Baltimore"
- All stories may not be relevant due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
External links
- Profile from the City of Baltimore
- Maryland State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Listing: Judge of the Circuit Court"
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Baltimore, "Kraft," accessed December 22, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maryland State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Listing: Judge of the Circuit Court," February 4, 2016
- ↑ Baltimore Sun, "Kraft ends run for Baltimore Circuit judge," September 6, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Election Dates," accessed February 4, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Maryland," archived October 27, 2010
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 American Judicature Society, "Judicial Selection in the States: Maryland; Overview," archived October 26, 2010
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Judicial Elections," accessed January 19, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Baltimore City Council, District 1 2004 – 2016 |
Succeeded by Zeke Cohen (D) |
 |
State of Maryland Annapolis (capital) |
|---|---|
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