Meet the candidates: Maryland House District 38B

Salisbury, Md. – On Nov. 3, voters will choose between Republican incumbent Del. Barry Beauchamp and Democratic challenger Josh Hastings. Both candidates are natives of Wicomico County.

Beauchamp has served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2024. In his campaign, Beauchamp’s top three priorities are affordable housing through infrastructure changes, protecting farmers and watermen and advocating for small businesses. He told WMDT that he is passionate about keeping solar developments off agricultural lands.

“I am not opposed to solar, but I am certainly opposed to having it on our prime farmland,” he said.

Hastings is a small business owner and has previously served on the Wicomico County Council. Three of his top priorities are increasing job opportunities, stronger and safer public schools and increasing access to affordable housing.

“The three things I generally care about, the three pillars of my campaign: people, the planet and democracy,” he said.

Both said they would address the high cost of living by boosting in-state energy generation.

Beauchamp said it’s through existing power plant infrastructure.

“To me, natural gas in some of the plants that use oil would be a viable option,” he said.

Hastings said it would come from a combination of renewable energy sources.

“The more that we can lower energy costs, the more that we can generate more energy in-state, the lower our cost of living will be,” Hastings said.

Both candidates said they are willing to work with others on the other side of the aisle to deliver for Marylanders.

“I voted on both sides and I’ve worked on both sides of the aisle,” Beauchamp said.

“More than anything else, let’s know where we’re going and let’s go try to go get there together,” Hastings said.