Terry Dayton Wheatley

Terry Dayton Wheatley is a lifelong Dorchester County resident and current Register of Wills, seeking re-election in 2026. A 1972 graduate of Cambridge High School, she began her legal career that same year at the law office of State Senator Frederick C. Malkus, Jr., serving as a legal secretary and later as an administrative assistant in his Annapolis office during General Assembly sessions from 1973 to 1986, before returning to Cambridge to manage his local office for the remainder of her 23-plus years with him. She subsequently worked at the Law Office of Wilson & Collison, gaining additional experience in probate and real estate. In 1999 she joined the Dorchester County Register of Wills office as a Deputy under the late Register Doris K. Lewis, became Chief Deputy in 2012, and was appointed Register of Wills by the Judges of the Orphans' Court on November 10, 2020, following Lewis's passing after 47 years of service. She was elected to a full term in the closely contested 2022 general election. A Democrat, she is married to her high school sweetheart Rick Wheatley and is the mother of five sons and grandmother of six. She is running in 2026 against Republican challengers Andrew Citrone and Walter "Dan" Kurth.