Szeliga was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in October 1961. She is of Polish descent. She was raised in a military family, her father being a lieutenant colonel in the US Army. Szeliga married her husband in 1980, and the couple struggled financially at first. Szeliga worked as a dishwasher, a maid, and a housekeeper. She entered college in her 30s, enrolling at Towson State University and graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. She began working as a teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools and started a construction business with her husband. She began her political career after a family friend, James M. Kelly, was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. She worked as a legislative aide to Del. James M. Kelly, then for Del. John G. Trueschler, and eventually became chief of staff for then-State Senator Andy Harris. Szeliga decided to run for Delegate after Del. J. B. Jennings decided to run for State Senate. She was elected and immediately placed on the Appropriations Committee.
In the legislature
Szeliga serves on the Environment and Transportation Committee, Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, and Legislative Policy Committee. She was previously a member of the Appropriations Committee, House Emergency Medical Services System Work Group, and Joint Committee on the Selection of the State Treasurer. She is a member of the Women Legislators of Maryland Caucus, Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, and Maryland Veterans Caucus. In April 2013, Delegate Szeliga was elected into leadership by her peers and serves as the Whip in the House Republican Caucus. She serves with Leader Nic Kipke of Anne Arundel County. Szeliga is the highest-ranking Republican woman in Maryland's state legislature and has been described as one of the most powerful female politicians in the state.
US Senate campaign
Szeliga announced in November 2015 that she would be running for the Republican nomination to replace Senator Barbara Mikulski in the 2016 US Senate election in Maryland. She was the first Republican in the 2016 Senate primary to release ads on television. On April 15, Citizens United announced they had bought $25,000 worth of radio airtime to promote Del. Szeliga ahead of the April 26 primary. Szeliga won the primary on April 26, 2016, and faced Representative Chris Van Hollen in the general election on November 8, 2016, in which she was defeated by a landslide 61% – 36% spread.
