Republican state senators elected Anne Arundel County Senator Bryan W. Simonaire to serve as their Minority Leader and Frederick County Senator Michael J. Hough to serve as Minority Whip for 2021. They will replace Minority Leader J.B. Jennings of Harford County and Minority Whip Stephen S. Hershey Jr. of the Upper Shore, who have served in these roles for the past six years. 
As reported by Maryland Matters,
The move to replace Jennings and Hershey with Simonaire and Hough was seen as a desire by the 15-member Republican caucus to practice a sharper-edged brand of conservatism in the State House at a time when the Senate Democratic caucus is perceived as moving to the left ― especially since the election of new Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) almost a year ago.
Senator Simonaire was first elected to the Senate in the fall of 2006. He has served in the Senate since 2007 and is a member of Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. Senator Hough was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 2011-2015. He was elected to the Senate in the fall of 2014 and has served as a member of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee since 2015.
