Tommie Broadwater Jr. (June 9, 1942 – July 11, 2023) was an American politician and businessman who served in the Maryland Senate from 1975 until he was convicted on federal food stamp fraud charges on October 19, 1983.

[3][4][5] Broadwater operated several businesses along Sheriff Road in Landover, Maryland, including Ebony Inn, a barbecue rib joint, and a bail bonding office.

[5] In January 1983, he filed for bankruptcy, listing nearly $1 million in debts and $75,000 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service,[6] after a supermarket he owned, the Chapel Oaks Farmers Market, failed.

[2][4][10] Broadwater was elected to the town council of Glenarden, Maryland in 1968, and served on the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee from 1970 to 1974,[1] where he established links with white politicians who controlled the Maryland Democratic Party, including Steny Hoyer and Peter O'Malley,[11] and helped secure appointments for African American politicians and judges.

[1] On March 6, 1983, Broadwater was arrested and charged with conspiring with his daughter and three other men to redeem $70,000 in improperly obtained food stamps in exchange for cash and drugs from an undercover U.S. Secret Service agent.

[20] Broadwater denied participating in any such scheme, saying that he spurned offers from the codefendants to buy the stolen food stamps, and had Senate President Melvin Steinberg and Majority Leader Clarence W. Blount testify as character witnesses.

[22] Following his conviction, Broadwater pushed for county committee members to appoint his wife or younger brother to the seat;[23] committee members instead appointed former state Delegate Decatur "Bucky" Trotter to the seat, which Broadwater opposed and whom he criticized as a "puppet of Miller".

[32][33] Broadwater placed third behind Britt and state Delegate Darren Swain in the Democratic primary on September 10, receiving 22.6 percent of the vote.

[36] In July 2020, Prince George's County health officials issued a warning against Broadwater after his neighbors reported that he held a pool party with hundreds of attendees at his mansion amid the COVID-19 pandemic.