Deep-blue Maryland has been a stronghold for Democrats in general elections for decades. But with a popular former Republican governor running for an open Senate seat and eight House races, the Old Line State could spring a few surprises this November. In this series, Old Line, New Battles: Maryland feels the primary pinch, the Washington Examiner will look at the key figures and important issues six months until election day. Part four will focus on Maryland’s three House open races.
Maryland‘s three open House races have drawn large primary fields as both Democratic and Republican hopefuls seek to replace three Democratic incumbents.
The state, which has eight House races on its May 14 primary ballot, had three incumbents decide to not pursue another term in their Districts, with two opting to retire, while a third, Rep. David Trone (D-MD), who represents Maryland’s 6th district, decided to launch a bid for retiring Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-MD) Senate seat.
In the 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), who served 11 terms in Congress, announced his retirement earlier this year. His decision to leave his long-held seat came amid a wave of announcements from House incumbents who decided to not seek reelection, including fellow Maryland Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
Here’s a look at Maryland’s three open House races ahead of Tuesday’s primaries:
District 2
Maryland’s 2nd Congressional district, which encompasses much of Baltimore and Carroll Counties and a portion of the city of Baltimore, has the fewest candidates in the race of the three, but still drew in six Democrats and three Republican candidates. The district is expected to be a safe Democratic seat, with Cook Political Report listing it as “solid Democrat.”
Despite facing steep odds in the state’s general election, the race’s three Republican candidates, conservative talk radio host Kim Klacik, Army veteran and businessman John Thormann, and businessman Dave Wallace are hopeful they will be their party’s nominee in the general election.
Klacik, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, ran an unsuccessful run for Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in 2020. However, during her 2020 campaign, she raised her national profile after raising more than $8 million dollars.
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr, is seemingly the front-runner on the Democratic side, enjoying the benefit of name recognition in the district due to his position. He reportedly is outpacing his opponents in fundraising, according to the Baltimore Sun, and has picked up key endorsements including Ruppersberger, and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
District 3
Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers Howard County as well as parts of Carroll and Anne Arundel counties, features the most packed race of the three open seats, with 22 Democrats, including former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, and nine Republicans looking to replace Sarbanes in the lower chamber.
Dunn, who first attracted the national spotlight for his service during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, is perhaps the most high-profile candidate on the Democratic side, leading the field in campaign donations with $4.5 million, according to OpenSecrets.
“On January 6th, 2021, I did my duty as a police officer and as an American and defended our nation’s Capitol from violent insurrectionists,” Dunn said when he announced his intent to run. “It is my duty to defend our democracy.”
Dunn, who testified before the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, has gained the endorsements of several high-profile Democrats for his run, including ‘Squad’ member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS). Dunn also has the support of the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.
However, Dunn was reportedly suspended for four days in 2012 after allegedly not storing his gun correctly, according to a Punchbowl News report published in March. According to the outlet, the suspension was the result of a U.S. Capitol Police investigation that found Dunn mishandled his service weapon after an alleged domestic violence incident was reported between Dunn and his then-wife.
The couple denied allegations of domestic violence in a statement to the outlet, stating at “no point were we physically violent toward each other or our family.” No charges were filed against Dunn or his then-wife.
Among the candidates running against Dunn is state Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth, who has garnered attention for receiving support from the United Democracy Project, a Super PAC for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, a pro-Israel group that has spent millions boosting her congressional bid. Elfreth has also pulled in roughly $1.4 in fundraising, according to OpenSecrets.
The Republican primary includes Arthur Radford Baker, Jr., Ray Bly, Berney Flowers, Thomas E. “Pinkston” Harris, Jordan Mayo, Naveed Mian, Joshua M. Morales, John Rea, and Robert J. Steinberger, though none have appeared to emerge as a prominent figure in the race.
The district is likely to vote for a Democrat as President Joe Biden garnered 62% of the vote in 2020 and won the district. Cook Political Report rates the seat as “solid Democrat.”
District 6
Maryland’s 6th Congressional district, which encompasses the northwest portion of the state, is expected to be Republicans’ best chance at flipping one of the three open seats blue, with Cook Political Report rating it as “likely Democrat.”
With a crowded field that includes seven Republicans and 16 Democrats, two Republican candidates are perhaps more widely known to voters in the state — former state Delegate Dan Cox, who ran for governor in 2022 against now-Gov. Wes Moore, and former state delegate Neil Parrott, who has won the Republican nomination for the seat twice before.
Cox, who was a member of Maryland’s House of Delegates from 2019 to 2023, lost to Moore by double digits, 32% to 64%, in Maryland’s 2022 Gubernatorial race.
Cox has been a vocal supporter of Trump, touting the former president’s endorsement of him in 2022 and repeating claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“President Trump is the legitimate and rightful president and they took it away from him,” Cox said during a candidate forum in February, according to the Washington Post.
Cox’s campaign website also describes him as the “only candidate or Congress to endorse and fully support President Trump for re-election this fall 2024.”
Parrott, a civil engineer, lost to Trone in 2022 by about nine percentage points. The 2022 results were closer than in 2020 when he lost by about nineteen points to the Total Wine & More chain co-founder.
Now, with Trone leaving the seat to run in Maryland’s open Senate race against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in the Democratic primary, Parrott believes he will be able to capture voters this time around.
“As an engineer, I’m very practical. So you got to work with other people with practical solutions, things that will actually work. You can’t just sit on it and kick the can down the road. It has to happen,” Parrott told the Washington Examiner.
Another Republican running in the Republican primary is Tom Royals, a former Naval Flight Officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, who said in a statement to the Washington Examiner, that he has an “unwavering commitment to service, faith, and country,” driving him this campaign season.
“Each of the Democratic candidates would be a rubber stamp for the failed weakness abroad, inflation at home, lawlessness on the border Biden agenda,” Royals told the Washington Examiner.
Cox, Parrott, and Royals are running for the Republican nominee alongside Chris Hyser, Mariela Roca, and former state delegate Brenda J. Thiam. Of the five candidates, Royals has raised the most money.
On the Democratic side, 16 people are running for the Democratic nomination. Joe Vogel, who has served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2023, is in the running. He said his experience working in a bipartisan manner would be useful should he be elected to Congress.
“My record of passing bipartisan legislation as a Delegate in the Maryland House demonstrates my ability to work across the aisle and tackle the issues that matter most to our communities,” Vogel said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“I’ve demonstrated a depth of legislative experience and ability to get things done that makes me the best candidate to secure the Democratic nomination and also to go on and win against any Republican challenger this November, ” he continued.
Meanwhile, Democrat Ashwani Jain touted several hard-Left policy positions in a statement to the Washington Examiner, including canceling student debt, and calling for a ceasefire and conditioning military aid in Gaza.
He also emphasized the fact he lives in the district he is running in, saying he was running “not just to make history as Maryland’s first millennial or first Asian American to serve in the office, but more so because I have really specific policy solutions that I believe are going to open the doors of opportunity for every member of my district.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Maryland’s Tuesday primaries will also feature the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. Though Biden and Trump gained enough delegates to become their party’s presumptive nominees shortly after Super Tuesday, eyes will be watching to see how Biden performs with the “uncommitted” option on the ballot once again while Trump will have to contend with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
