Maryland Gov.-elect Wes Moore has selected state senator Susan Lee, a Democrat representing Montgomery County, to serve as Maryland’s next Secretary of State. The move by the incoming governor — set to be sworn in next Wednesday — will trigger a shake-up in the General Assembly, which begins its 2023 legislative session Wednesday.

Lee, whose career in Maryland politics began more than two decades ago, will be the state’s first Asian American to hold the Secretary of State role. Her appointment now leaves a vacancy in District 16, which includes Bethesda and Potomac, where she has served as a state senator since 2014.

“Senator Susan Lee has been a force in Maryland for decades and I’m honored to have her join my Administration,” Moore said in a statement. “I know with Sen. Lee alongside me, we will swiftly create an economically thriving Maryland that leaves no one behind.”

The Secretary of State’s office is responsible for handling executive functions, including extraditions, pardons and commutations, business dealings with the state, and certifying candidates for nomination in presidential election primaries. During her time as the first Asian American woman in the General Assembly, serving initially in the House of Delegates, Lee sponsored equal pay, gun control, and domestic violence protection legislation. She’s currently the senate majority whip, and the first chairperson of the Maryland Legislative Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus.

“I’m excited to work alongside Governor Wes Moore as Maryland’s next Secretary of State to bring real change to our communities,” Lee said in a press release from Moore’s office. “On day one, we’ll be ready to hit the ground running to create an economically thriving state that leaves no one behind — one that puts our working families first and sends a clear message to businesses that we are ready to work.”

Lee’s appointment now leaves a vacancy in District 16, just as the legislative session kicks off. Spokespeople for Lee did not immediately return DCist/WAMU’s request for comment, and it’s not clear when she will resign from her elected role in the General Assembly, which gavels in at noon on Wednesday. Per state law, Montgomery County’s Democratic Central Committee will select Lee’s replacement, and send that recommendation to the governor for consideration.

In a release shared on Tuesday evening, State Del. Ariana Kelly, who has represented District 16 for 12 years and was recently elected for a fourth term, announced her intentions to fill Lee’s vacancy.

“I hope to earn the recommendation of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee. I will encourage members to consider my experience representing District 16, my successful legislative track record, and my established voting history,” Kelly said. Her statement included endorsements from her fellow District 16 lawmaker, Del. Marc Korman (who is also the House Majority Leader) and Del. Sara Love.

“Ariana is going to make a terrific senator,” Korman said in the release, while Love described Kelly as “an amazing teammate and leader on the issues that are important to District 16.” Kelly’s senatorial bid has also earned the support from both members of the Montgomery County Council representing District 16 — Andrew Friedson and Kate Stewart.

If Kelly did indeed fill Lee’s empty seat, another vacancy would then open in Kelly’s delegate position, as well as her role as the vice chair of the House Health and Government Operations Committee. The state senate also needs to fill the seat left empty by the appointment of long-time Sen. Paul Pinsky, who represented Prince George’s County, to the Maryland Energy Administration. Pinsky, a veteran leader on energy in the General Assembly, resigned from his seat on Tuesday to take the helm of the MEA. Lawmakers have introduced bills in previous legislative session aiming to overhaul the vacancy process and fill seats via special elections rather than appointments by political committees, but none have successfully passed.

This story was updated to include Wes Moore’s appointment of Paul Pinsky to the director of the Maryland Energy Administration.