ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is seeking the Democratic nomination for a second term as voters across the state cast ballots Tuesday in a primary covering federal, state and local offices. The election also features two closely watched Democratic congressional primaries that have drawn significant attention heading into the 2026 midterms.
The midterm contests are playing out with an eye already on 2028. Moore is running for reelection while speculation swirls about a potential presidential run. At the same time, competitive primaries across all eight of Maryland’s congressional districts could be among the last conducted under the current district boundaries, as state lawmakers weigh entering the national mid-decade redistricting debate with a new map that could eliminate Maryland’s only Republican congressional seat before the 2028 elections.
At the top of the ticket, Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller face a primary challenge from Eric Felber, a physician running alongside his running mate LaTrece Hawkins Lytes. In Maryland, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run together on a joint ticket. Felber previously made an unsuccessful run against Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 8th Congressional District primary in 2024.
Whichever Democratic ticket prevails will go on to face the winner of a nine-candidate Republican primary that includes former state Del. Dan Cox and his running mate, Rob Krop. Cox lost to Moore in the 2022 general election and made another unsuccessful bid in 2024 for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District.
One of the most crowded races on the ballot is in the 5th Congressional District, where 24 Democrats are competing for the nomination to succeed former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who is stepping down after 23 terms in Congress. Notable candidates in the race include former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, health care business executive Quincy Bareebe, Prince George’s County state Del. Adrian Boafo, Prince George’s County Councilwoman Wala Blegay, and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn.
Bareebe led all candidates in fundraising as of early June, with Dunn coming in second. Boafo has secured endorsements from Hoyer, Moore, and Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.
Dunn was on duty at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in an effort to prevent certification of his 2020 presidential election loss. Dunn previously ran in the 3rd Congressional District in 2024, finishing second in a 22-candidate Democratic primary field.
The 5th District encompasses all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties in southern Maryland, though the majority of its voters are drawn from portions of Anne Arundel County and the heavily Democratic Prince George’s County.
In the 6th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney is seeking a second term but faces a formidable primary challenge from the man whose seat she now holds — former U.S. Rep. David Trone. Trone has loaned his own campaign $25 million. He gave up the 6th District seat to run in the 2024 U.S. Senate primary, where he spent $63 million of his personal funds and finished second behind Alsobrooks, who ultimately won the Senate seat.
Most voters in the 6th District live in Democratic-leaning Frederick County and heavily Democratic Montgomery County, though the district also takes in all of Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties in the strongly Republican western part of the state.
Moore and legislative allies had pushed to redraw Maryland’s congressional map in response to new Trump-backed redistricting efforts in several Republican-controlled states. That effort was blocked in mid-April by Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson, who argued the plan put existing Democratic-held seats in jeopardy.
However, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision in April that led some Republican-controlled southern states to eliminate majority-Black congressional districts held by Democrats, Ferguson issued a statement saying “Maryland must respond as the ground shifts under us.” Lawmakers may revisit the redistricting question before the 2028 elections through a state constitutional amendment that could go before voters as early as November.
Here are key facts about Tuesday’s election: Polls close at 8 p.m. ET. The Associated Press will report vote totals and call winners in contested primaries for governor, U.S. House, state Senate, state House, and local offices in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Only voters registered with a political party may participate in that party’s primary. Democrats cannot vote in the Republican primary and vice versa. Voters registered as independent or unaffiliated are not eligible to participate in either primary.
As of May 31, Maryland had approximately 4.6 million registered voters. That total includes roughly 2.2 million active registered Democrats, about 1 million active registered Republicans, and approximately 1 million active voters with no party affiliation. An additional 250,000 inactive registered voters are on the rolls, though the state does not break that group down by party.
During the 2022 gubernatorial primaries, about 671,000 registered Democrats and roughly 295,000 registered Republicans cast ballots — representing approximately 16% and 7% of registered voters at that time, respectively. Roughly 60% of Democratic primary votes and about 37% of Republican primary votes in 2022 were cast either early in person or by mail.
As of Wednesday, approximately 228,000 Democratic primary ballots and around 67,000 Republican primary ballots had already been submitted ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Early voting and mail ballots typically make up the first wave of results reported on election night. In the 2022 primary, the AP released its first results at 8:42 p.m. ET — 42 minutes after polls closed — and the final update of the night came at 4:15 a.m. ET with about 56% of total votes counted.
In Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the state’s two most populous, initial results in 2022 came in at 9:05 p.m. ET. Montgomery County’s last election night update came at 2:25 a.m. ET with roughly half the votes tallied, while Prince George’s County’s final update was at 3:05 p.m. ET with about 59% counted.
The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner once it has determined that no remaining uncounted votes could allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race remains uncalled, the AP will continue to report on any significant developments, including candidate concessions or victory declarations, while making clear that no winner has been officially declared.
Maryland does not conduct automatic recounts. A losing candidate may request and pay for a recount if the margin between the top two finishers is 5% or less of the combined votes cast for those two candidates. The AP may still call a winner in a race subject to a potential recount if the lead is determined to be too large to be overcome.
As of Tuesday, 133 days remain until the 2026 midterm elections.
