MD Senate President Bill Ferguson proclaims win in primary election

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Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson declared victory over challenger Bobby LaPin on Tuesday in the Democratic primary race to represent District 46.

“Tonight, you sent me back to Annapolis,” the state Senate president said at an election party at the union hall owned by Baltimore City Fire Fighters Local 734 on Tuesday evening. “I’ve done this long enough to know that trust is earned and never owed. I want to thank each and every one of you.”

As of 10 p.m., Ferguson was beating LaPin on a margin of about 58% to 42% of votes with 29 of 55 Election Day precincts reported, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections’ unofficial returns. He said he had not yet spoken with LaPin.

Party attendees cheered as results in the District 46 Senate race flashed on the screen showing Ferguson with a clear lead.

“You didn’t send me back because of things we’ve already accomplished. You sent me back because of what comes next,” Ferguson said to the crowd. “We know they will keep coming after our schools, our healthcare, our right to vote and our right to make decisions about our own bodies, and every single time they do, they are going to find Maryland standing in the way.”

Ferguson was flanked by his wife, Lea Ferguson, and two children, Caleb and Cora, as he delivered his victory speech. He was ushered into the room with Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, House Speaker Pro Tem Luke Clippinger and District 46 Del. Mark Edelson.

Ferguson’s election night party was well-attended. U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, former Maryland House Appropriations Committee Chair Maggie McIntosh and Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos, all Democrats, were among the sea of Navy-blue shirts bearing Ferguson’s name.

As he looks ahead to the November general election, Ferguson will go head-to-head against Republican candidate Emmanuel Digman, who ran for the position in 2022 and made an attempt to best Zeke Cohen in the 2024 Baltimore City Council race.

Ferguson faced the toughest primary challenger of his 15-year political career in LaPin, a boat captain and social media personality who has proven to push Ferguson to the left on big-ticket issues like redistricting.

In February, as the battle between Ferguson and Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, waged over redrawing the state’s congressional map, LaPin delivered a petition with thousands of signatures to Senate leadership during the 2026 legislative session demanding that the bill to redraw the congressional map be brought to the floor for a vote.

According to the senate president’s office, a review of the petition indicated that at least half of the signatories had out-of-state zip codes, and many with Maryland zip codes lived outside Ferguson’s Baltimore district.

Although Ferguson did not change his position regarding congressional redistricting during 2026’s regular 90-day session, he has teased the potential of holding a post-primary election special legislative session to consider a constitutional referendum regarding congressional redistricting to be placed on the ballot during November’s general election.

Ferguson said Tuesday evening that his 2026 reelection campaign “humbled” him.

Addressing the press after his declaration of victory, Ferguson said that he feels “a deep urge to connect in different ways” with his constituents and to ensure that “people experience it and feel it, and that they understand how hard we are fighting on their behalf.”

“I will work every single day to make sure that the next time around that we’re in this place that their opinions and voices are as important as anyone else,” Ferguson said of those who chose not to vote for him. “I’m deeply thankful for their continued engagement because we need everyone in the moment when democracy is on the line.”

During his 2026 campaign, Ferguson has received high-profile endorsements, including U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, former U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski, Attorney General Anthony Brown, Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, all Democrats, as well as Planned Parenthood of Maryland, the immigrant rights advocacy organization CASA In Action and the Maryland chapter of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents state government employees.

According to the Maryland State Board of Elections campaign finance database, Ferguson’s reelection committee reported raising $2,193,180.88 as of Tuesday — the fourth-most of any other committee in the state. Nearly three-quarters of contributions to Ferguson’s campaign are from within the state.

Ferguson previously served as a Baltimore City educator as a member of Teach for America. He ran for the state Senate in 2010, beating former Sen. George W. Della Jr., a Democrat who had represented the 46th legislative district for 28 years. Upon his win, Ferguson became the youngest serving state senator in Maryland history.

Ferguson was selected by the Senate Democratic Caucus to serve as the chamber president in 2020, when the late Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr., stepped down from the role to serve as a regular member of the chamber.

If Ferguson wins the November general election, the Senate Democratic Caucus will hold an election ahead of the 2027 legislative session to determine if he should maintain his position as president.

During his six-year tenure as Senate president, Ferguson led his chamber through the coronavirus pandemic, ushered the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform policy to the governor’s desk, pushed for police reform, aided in putting a referendum to protect reproductive rights before Maryland’s electorate, jumped to action when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed and combatted increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies under President Donald Trump.

This story has been updated.