MD congressional incumbents cruise to primary wins

Listen to this article

The crowded 5th District race in Southern Maryland, along with the costly 6th District race in Western Maryland, drew most of the attention during the primary election campaign. In the state’s six other congressional districts, incumbents appeared headed to renomination in races with less spending and less drama.

Other congressional races

District 1: Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, was leading GOP challenger Chris Bruneau of Harford County, with early returns showing Harris pulling in 82% of the preliminary vote as of late Tuesday. On the Democratic side, Dan Schwartz was leading the field of four with 46% of the vote, with Randi White his closest competitor at 37%. The Democratic nominee is expected to face an uphill fight in the conservative Eastern Shore district, where 43% of voters are Republican and just a third are Democrats.

District 2: Former Baltimore County Executive and current Rep. Johnny “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr. (D-2nd) appeared to be easily winning that nomination with 85% of the vote over Democratic challenger Clint Spellman Jr. Olszewski will face the winner of the GOP primary, where Dave Wallace had close to 90% of the vote to just over 10% for Nnabu Eze.

District 3: After surviving a 22-candidate primary two years ago, freshman Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-3rd) had a decidedly easier time of it Tuesday, grabbing 76% of the vote to apparently knock off four Democratic challengers with close to half of ballots counted. Elfreth is heavily favored in the district in November, when she will likely face Air Force veteran Berney Flowers, who was leading a field of four GOP hopefuls with just under half the vote.

District 4: Two-term Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-4th) faced a serious challenge from the left from Shavonne Hedgepeth and Jakeya Johnson, among four Democratic challengers, but appears to have survived easily. Ivey had almost 79% of the vote in early returns and will face perennial Republican candidate George McDermott, who was not challenged in the primary, in the general election.

District 7: Longtime Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th) faced his first serious challenge in several years from Baltimore City Councilmember Mark Conway Jr., but that challenge appeared to fizzle Tuesday. In a field of four Democrats, Mfume pulled 71% of the vote and Conway a distant second, at 23%, with close to half of precincts reporting. Mfume would face Republican Scott M. Collier, who ran unopposed in the primary, and who faces an uphill battle in the heavily Democratic Baltimore City district.

District 8: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th), a prodigious fundraiser and rising Democratic star on Capitol Hill, easily outdistanced three Democratic challengers Tuesday, receiving 92% of the vote with about two-thirds of ballots counted. Four Republicans were vying for the chance to face him in November, with 2024 nominee Cheryl Riley holding an early lead with 44% of the vote, well ahead of second-place candidate Anita Mpambara Cox’s 26%. Green Party candidate Nancy Wallace will also be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected]. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and Twitter.