Talbot Rising

Talbot Rising is a volunteer organization that organizes left-of-center protests, advocating for social, racial, and so-called economic justice in Talbot County, Maryland.  1  2 The organization was established in 2016 by former Talbot County Attorney Michael Pullen (D), who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s first congressional district in 2018. 3  4

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At-A-Glance

Type: Organization, Other
Issue Areas: Environmental Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Website: talbotrising.org/donation
Formation:

2016

Founder:

Michael Pullen

Contents

    The website listed for the organization, talbotrising.org/donation, was not responsive as of January 2026. 5

    Background

    Talbot Rising is a volunteer organization that organizes left-of-center protests, advocating for social, racial, and economic justice. 6 Talbot Rising describes itself as a “progressive grassroots volunteer organization using the power of peaceful resistance, education, and issue advocacy for economic, social, racial, and environmental justice in Talbot County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.”  5

    Mike Pullen, a Democratic politician who served as Talbot County Attorney, established Talbot Rising in 2016, during the presidential election. He said he understood the impact on “the forgotten middle class,” and was afraid this group was being reached by Republican Donald Trump’s candidacy. 7  5

    The website listed for the organization, talbotrising.org/donation, was not responsive as of January 2026. 5

    Founder

    Michael Pullen, the founder of Talbot Rising, was a 2018 candidate for the U.S. House in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District. He lost in the June Democratic primary election. 4 He previously served as Talbot County Attorney for 24 years.  4

    Pullen has been a public defender, a trial lawyer, co-owner of a law firm, and delegate to the Democratic National Convention.  4

    He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston College and a law degree from Suffolk Law School.  4

    Activities

    Talbot Rising seeks to mobilize public opinion and awareness of what founder Mike Pullen considers an attack on the environment, health care, public education, and traditional American values.  7

    Ridgley Ochs, a former journalist based in New York who had been a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and won an Emmy, moved to Maryland in 2016, and became active in Talbot Rising. 8

    In July 2022, Grace Soltis, the chair of the Talbot Rising Committee, joined a coalition of 20 organization heads that called for the Maryland Department of the Environment to publish regulation on moving the state toward zero waste. The letter called for changing the definition of “food residuals” to “clarify that food waste generators don’t have to divert all their material to one site,” to “specify that all organics recycling sites regardless of size can accept a food generator’s food residuals in whole or in part for recycling,” and to “provide guidance on what happens when a food waste generator reduces, rescues or recycles sufficient food residuals to drop below the ton threshold.” 9

    In 2020, Denice Lombard, the chair of Talbot Rising, joined a coalition of seven other left-leaning organizations in Maryland to urge the state legislature to adopt the Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act. 10

    In July 2019, Talbot Rising hosted a showing of the documentary Before the Flood narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, about climate change in an event at the Talbot County Public Library. 11

    In January 2019, Talbot Rising teamed with several local Indivisible groups, as well as organizations Together We Will and the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus, to sponsor a “coordinated joint demonstration” outside the district office of U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) at the Wicomico County Circuit Court in Salisbury. 12

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    References

    1. “Talbot Rising.” X. Accessed January 16, 2026. https://x.com/talbot_rising 
    2. “Talbot Rising.” Facebook. Accessed January 16, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/talbotrisingmaryland/ 
    3. “Talbot Rising.” Facebook. . Accessed January 16, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/talbotrisingmaryland/about_details 
    4. “Michael Pullen.” Ballotpedia. Accessed January 18, 2026. https://ballotpedia.org/Michael_Pullen
    5. “Talbot Rising.” Facebook. Accessed January 16, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/talbotrisingmaryland/about_details 
    6. “Talbot Rising.” Healthy Talbot. Accessed January 16, 2026. https://healthytalbot.org/resources/talbot-rising/
    7. Wheelan, Dave. “Talbot Rising and New Political Activism on the Shore with Mike Pullen.” Talbot Spy. March 30, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2026. https://talbotspy.org/talbot-rising-and-new-political-activism-on-the-shore-with-mike-pullen/ 
    8. “Ridgely Ochs.” Talbot Rising.” Accessed January 17, 2026. https://www.talbotdems.org/ridgely-ochs 
    9. “Maryland’s Organic Waste Diversion Mandate: Making it Work.” Clean Water. July 21, 2022. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://cleanwater.org/2022/07/27/marylands-organic-waste-diversion-mandate-making-it-work 
    10. “Lower Shore Progressive Caucus creates coalition of local officials and organizations across the Eastern Shore to urge delegates to vote for CEJA.” Lower Shor Progressives. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://lowershoreprogressives-progressivemaryland.nationbuilder.com/lower_shore_progressive_caucus_creates_coalition_of_local_officials_and_organizations_across_the_eastern_shore_to_urge_delegates_to_vote_for_ceja 
    11. “Climate Change and the Eastern Shore: Talbot Rising Presents ‘Before the Flood’ July 22.” Talbot Spy. July 10, 2019. Accessed January 17, 2026.https://talbotspy.org/climate-change-and-the-eastern-shore-talbot-rising-presents-before-the-flood-july-22/ 
    12. “Take Action.” Democratic Club of Kent County Maryland. Accessed January 17, 2026. https://dckcmd.com/take-action-1-1/