By APRIL QUEVEDO, DARANEE BALACHANDAR, AIDAN HUGHES
Maryland remains a strong Democratic state as the rest of the country skewed Republican in the 2024 election. Senate-elect Angela Alsobrooks made state and national history and voters made their voices heard on abortion access. Here are five takeaways from the 2024 general election in Maryland:
Maryland holds true blue
Maryland’s 10 electoral votes were awarded to Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris after capturing nearly 1.5 million votes compared to Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s 920,000.
The state, which has voted for the Democratic nominee in the last eight elections, as reported by CNS, provided a reliable victory during a night of swing state upsets for the Democratic candidate. Harris won two fewer Maryland jurisdictions compared to Biden’s 10 in 2020 and one more than Hillary Clinton’s seven in 2016.
Frederick County, which voted in favor of Trump during the 2016 presidential election but swung left during Trump’s bid for reelection against Biden in 2020, remained a majority Democratic county this election cycle.
In 2020, the eastern shore’s Kent and Talbot counties were narrowly won by Biden with less than a 200-vote difference in either county. They swung back to the Republicans in 2024 and voted in Trump’s favor by nearly 1,000 votes each.
Alsobrooks wins the senate race
In a historic win, Angela Alsobrooks won the U.S. Senate race by garnering almost 1.3 million votes Tuesday, making her Maryland’s first Black woman to hold the position. She and Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester will make history as the first Black women to serve in the Senate concurrently. Alsobrooks will represent Marylanders in the Republican majority Senate with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in January. Despite former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s popularity as a moderate Republican, Alsobrooks managed to defeat him by approximately 200,000 votes.
Combined, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Baltimore counties accounted for a little more than 50 percent of total votes cast for Alsobrooks, a CNS analysis of unofficial 2024 election results found. The analysis showed that most voters in Frederick County and Anne Arundel County voted for Hogan, who is a Republican, despite voting for Democratic presidential nominee Harris.
Competitive House seats remain uncalled
There are no surprises so far in the House races that have already been called by news organizations. Republican Andy Harris has won Maryland’s 1st Congressional District in the east of the state, with the rest of the called districts going to Democrats. None of those races were considered competitive heading into Election Day.
Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, a contest between Republican Neil Parrott and Democrat April McClain Delaney, has yet to be called.
The race was expected to be the most competitive House race in Maryland this year, and the two candidates are currently neck and neck – separated by just over 300 votes with an estimated 84% of votes counted as of Wednesday afternoon according to the Associated Press.
Frederick and Montgomery counties have the largest number of estimated votes still to be counted for the 6th District race. Matthew Klein, U.S. House and Governors Analyst at Cook Political Report, said he anticipates those late vote counts will swing towards Delaney and secure her the seat.
“I do think Delaney will pull it off, and she’ll pull it off by a couple of points – maybe 2, 3, 4, something like that – and Montgomery will bail her out,” Klein said.
Even if Democrats keep their hold on all seven seats they held before election night, Klein said early vote results suggest Democratic House candidates in Maryland will likely have underperformed compared to 2020.
Abortion will be enshrined into the Maryland state constitution
Roughly 1 in 4 Marylanders voted to protect reproductive rights. While abortion is legal in Maryland, the amendment would make it difficult for lawmakers to pass future legislation that would limit access without violating the state’s constitution.
Maryland joins six of 10 states that voted in favor of abortion access measures. The three remaining states, Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota defeated similar constitutional amendments.
Baltimore City Council measure
Baltimore City voters rejected a ballot initiative to reduce the size of the City Council from 12 to eight seats. The Republican-backed Question 8 was defeated at the polls with 62% voting against the measure.
The controversial measure was put forward by People for Elected Accountability and Civic Engagement (PEACE) and funded to the tune of $400,00 by David Smith, a Baltimore businessman, co-owner of The Baltimore Sun and chairman of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. In 2022, PEACE successfully supported ballot initiatives that impose term limits on Baltimore’s mayor and City Council and other elected officials.
The measure was opposed by The Stop Sinclair Committee, with backing from labor groups and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. According to The Baltimore Banner, this is only the second time that Baltimore’s electorate has voted down a ballot measure in 25 years.
Adam Marton contributed to this story.
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