[4] Shortly after McCray's 18th birthday, he signed up for an apprenticeship program with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where he later served as an organizer.

Democratic Club, which encouraged young people in east Baltimore to get involved in politics.

[2] He prevailed in the Democratic primary, receiving 19.5 percent of the vote and coming third in a field of eight candidates.

During his 2014 House run, he worked closely with Scott when he was a city councilmember to provide constituent services to residents he encountered while canvassing.

[4] In March 2017, Nicole Hanson, executive director of Out for Justice, filed an ethics complaint was filed against McCray, saying that she felt "physically and psychologically" threatened by McCray after he lost his temper during a conversation about the roots of poverty, causing him to throw a chair against a wall and begin using expletives.

In April, the General Assembly's ethics committee found that McCray "breached the standards of conduct expected of a member.

[14] In October 2019, following the death of Representative Elijah Cummings, McCray said that he would give "serious consideration" to running in the 2020 special election in Maryland's 7th congressional district to fill the rest of his term.

[18] During his short tenure, he alleged that the organization was overspending without strong financial controls under Cummings' leadership.

[20] In March 2021, McCray joined five other senators in delivering a letter to Governor Larry Hogan that expressed "grave concerns" over equity of the state's vaccination program rollout.

[29][30] In September 2019, McCray voted against a climate debate resolution at the Democratic National Committee, arguing that his constituents needed him to advocate for greater movement on issues like justice reform, police brutality, and economic opportunity.

[33] The bill passed with a full-on effective date of 2025, but was vetoed by Governor Larry Hogan on March 27, 2019.

[38] He introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would create a commission to study local control of the city police and allow voters to determine if the city government should regain control of the police department via a charter amendment during the 2022 or 2024 general election.

[43] In 2021, McCray joined local officials in advocating for more funding to meet the Maryland Transit Administration's maintenance and other needs.