ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

A day after Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones announced she would be stepping away from her leadership role, questions arise about who will take her place.

Like every political campaign, the names of those who are allegedly interested in taking Jones' place are being floated around.

"Well, we have a vacuum. When you have a leadership change, that's a vacuum, and all kinds of things will try to rush to fill it," said John T. Willis, a former Maryland secretary of state who is now a senior executive in residence and research fellow at the University of Baltimore.

Jones, the first Black person and woman to lead the chamber , said she plans to continue to serve as a delegate. In a statement, she said, in part:

"When elected Speaker, I never intended this to be for

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