Steve Whisler

Steve Whisler
Member-elect of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 5th district
Assuming office
January 13, 2027
SucceedingChristopher Eric Bouchat
Personal details
Born1968 (age 57–58)
Pennsylvania, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Children4
Education
Military service
BranchUnited States Navy
Service years
1986–2006
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsOperation Desert Storm
AwardsCombat Action Ribbon
Air Medal

Steve Whisler (born 1968) is an American politician and retired U.S. Navy officer who is a member-elect of the Maryland House of Delegates from 5th district. A member of the Republican Party, he was a member of the Carroll County Board of Education from 2022 to 2026.

Early life and education

Whisler was born in Pennsylvania in 1968, and raised in Florida. His father served as an U.S. Army police officer. After graduating from high school, Whisler enlisted in the U.S. Navy, becoming a cryptologic technician interpreter specializing in Farsi. He was stationed aboard Navy ships in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, where he monitored transmissions and activities of potential adversaries and gathered intelligence aboard surveillance aircraft. During his service, he logged 700 flight hours and was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and the Air Medal. Whisler retired as a lieutenant in 2006.

Whisler graduated from Catonsville Community College in 1994, earning an associate's degree in liberal arts in 1994. He then attended Excelsior University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology, and Troy University, where he earned a Master of Science degree in management. Whisler also completed coursework at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Phoenix.

Career

Whisler previously served as the president of the Westview Park Improvement and Civic Association in Catonsville, Maryland. He also taught at Baltimore County Public Schools for eight years and served as a board member of Tower Federal Credit Union.

In 2008, Whisler ran to be an alternate delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention, pledged to U.S. senator Fred Thompson. In 2010, Whisler ran for the Baltimore County Council in District 1, winning the Republican primary unopposed and losing to Democratic nominee Tom Quirk in the general election. Following his defeat, he became a senior defense contractor for Northrop Grumman.

Carroll County Board of Education

Whisler was elected to the Carroll County Board of Education in 2022. During his campaign, he signed Moms for Liberty's "Parent Pledge" and supported efforts to ban the display of pride flags in school buildings. Whisler was sworn in on December 7, 2022. In December 2025, he was elected to serve as the school board's president.

During his tenure, Whisler criticized critical race theory, supported efforts to ban cellphones from schools, and expressed concerns with funding mandates under the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. He also supported efforts to ban books involving race, gender, or sexuality from school libraries; in January 2024, Whisler proposed a policy change that would ban all library books and instructional material containing "sexually explicit" content from public schools, which was unanimously approved by the school board. Later that year, he accused Alison Rudolph, a Carroll County bookstore owner, of "sexualizing kids" by promoting an annual Banned Books Week on her store's Facebook page. Rudolph later said that Whisler's comments set off a wave of negative reviews and damaged her business, and petitioned the Maryland State Board of Education to remove Whisler from office for his comments. Whisler responded to the petition by stating his comments were not made in any official capacity and by citing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In February 2025, the state board criticized Whisler's posts as unsuitable due to his position, but dismissed the removal request, saying that the posts did not impact the local school board's operations.

In December 2025, Whisler was accused of plagiarizing a resolution honoring the United States Semiquincentennial from the 1776 Project, a conservative nonprofit focused on promoting conservative principles and parental rights and countering curricula promoted by The 1619 Project. Whisler denied the allegations, which he called "crazy and untrue", saying that he never claimed to have authored the resolution. During the meeting in which Whisler introduced the resolution, he claimed that it was put out by BestinEd, School Boards for Academic Excellence, the 1776 Project PAC, and the White House, but later wrote in an email to Carroll County Times that he got the resolution from another school board member in Sarasota County, Florida.

Maryland House of Delegates

In March 2025, Whisler announced that he would run for the 5th district of the Maryland House of Delegates, seeking to succeed Christopher Eric Bouchat, who did not seek re-election. He won the Republican primary on June 23, 2026, alongside incumbents Chris Tomlinson and April Rose, and defeated Democratic nominees Dayana Bergman, Alison Rudolph, and Courtney Welch in the general election.

Personal life

Whisler is married and has four sons. He moved from Catonsville, Maryland, to Carroll County in 2014. As of 2022, Whisler lives in Marriottsville, Maryland.

Electoral history

2010 Baltimore County Council District 1 election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Steve Whisler 3,824 100.0%
Total votes 3,824 100.00%
General election
Democratic Tom Quirk 19,551 55.5%
Republican Steve Whisler 15,574 44.2%
Write-in 72 0.2%
Total votes 35,197 100.00%
2022 Carroll County Board of Education election
Primary election
Candidate Votes %
Patricia Ann Dorsey (incumbent) 17,220 18.30%
Tom Scanlan 15,318 16.28%
Amanda Jozkowski 15,024 15.97%
Steve Whisler 14,809 15.74%
Tara Battaglia (incumbent) 14,402 15.31%
James Miller 12,269 13.04%
Katie Speert 3,230 3.43%
Pat Sands 1,820 1.93%
Total votes 94,092 100.00%
General election
Tara Battaglia (incumbent) 34,069 18.94%
Steve Whisler 32,198 17.90%
Patricia Ann Dorsey (incumbent) 30,307 16.84%
James Miller 28,954 16.09%
Amanda Jozkowski 28,216 15.68%
Tom Scanlan 25,750 14.31%
Write-in 431 0.24%
Total votes 179,925 100.00%

References

  1. 1 2 "About Steve Whisler". whisler4delegate.com. Whisler For Delegate. Archived from the original on June 25, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  2. ↑ Groft, Kelly (April 20, 2026). "Veteran Spotlight: Steve Whisler". WMAR-TV. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  3. ↑ "2022 Voter Guide: Steve Whisler, candidate for Carroll County Board of Education". The Baltimore Sun. May 17, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  4. ↑ Goldberg, Lisa (December 1, 2004). "County Council weighs amendments to proposed revitalization project". The Baltimore Sun. p. B3. Retrieved June 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Goodnight, Cameron (March 6, 2022). "Seven candidates are running for three open seats on Carroll County's school board, so far". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Alternate Delegates to the Republican National Convention". The Baltimore Sun. February 7, 2008. p. A15. Retrieved June 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Official 2008 Presidential Primary Election results for Alternate Delegates to the Republican National Convention". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ Hill, Raven (September 16, 2010). "McIntire loses; Oliver holds slim lead for Balto. Co. Council". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  9. ↑ Fulbright, Lauren (December 1, 2010). "Candidates look back after first political forays". The Baltimore Sun. pp. T4, T5. Retrieved June 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas (November 18, 2022). "Patricia Dorsey wins reelection to Carroll County school board, alongside Tara Battaglia and Steve Whisler". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Ross, Abbi; Hussein, Aya; Siock, Sarah (October 12, 2023). "Challenged books in Carroll County largely written by women, feature LGBTQIA+ characters". Capital News Service. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  12. ↑ Goodnight, Cameron (May 12, 2022). "Dozens protest as Carroll County school board debates ban on flags as 'political symbols'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Goodwin Smith, Thomas (December 7, 2022). "Tara Battaglia, Patricia Dorsey and Steve Whisler are sworn in as members of the Carroll County Board of Education". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Fine, Gabriella (December 12, 2025). "3 hours of Carroll school board debate includes plagiarism accusations". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ Goodnight, Cameron (June 13, 2022). "Carroll school board adopts alternative plans for state-mandated health curriculum in high schools". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  16. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas (March 14, 2024). "Carroll school board discusses policy to sharply cut student cellphone use". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  17. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas (January 11, 2024). "Carroll's budget priorities and challenges discussed by commissioners and school board". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  18. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas (June 13, 2025). "Carroll school board excludes 4 books from high school English lessons". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  19. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas (January 9, 2024). "Carroll school board will vote on 'sexually explicit content' in books and curriculum". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  20. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas (January 11, 2024). "Unanimous Carroll school board vote bans 'sexually explicit' materials". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  21. ↑ Fine, Gabriella (June 6, 2026). "State urges social media guardrails, but many Maryland school boards opt out". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  22. ↑ Fine, Gabriella (October 2, 2025). "Rudolph Girls Books, an independent bookstore, to close in Westminster". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  23. ↑ Goodwin Smith, Thomas; Greenfield, Sherry (March 26, 2025). "Carroll County school board member to run for Maryland House of Delegates". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  24. ↑ Yelenik, Marissa (June 24, 2026). "Who won the Carroll County primaries? Familiar names largely prevail". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Maryland Election Results". The New York Times. November 3, 2026. Retrieved November 6, 2026.
  26. ↑ Knezevich, Alison; Anderson, Jessica (October 7, 2014). "Baltimore Co. police make arrest in triple shooting outside Catonsville swingers club". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Official 2010 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Baltimore County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Official 2010 Gubernatorial General Election results for Baltimore County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results for Carroll County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for Carroll County". elections.maryland.gov. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved June 25, 2026.