Maryland voters to fight over ‘soul of the party’ in solid-blue district primaries

(CN) — Maryland voters are set to vote later this June in three congressional primaries for heavily Democratic districts from the western shore of the Chesapeake to the northwestern corner of the state, including a race to replace retiring Representative Steny Hoyer.

Democrats in the heavily blue state are expected to maintain their seven seats to the Republican’s one representative, making the June 23 election many voters’ chance to decide who they will send to Congress in 2027.

With the 2026 midterms looming in November, the GOP holds a slim 217-212 majority in the House. The president’s party historically loses seats in midterm elections, with 18 of the last 20 elections since 1946 following that pattern.

Sam Novey, chief strategist at the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, said in an interview with Courthouse News that the state of partisan politics — where single-party dominance in districts reward more extreme candidates in primaries before an uncompetitive general election — allows voters to shape their party’s future.

“It really is a fight for the soul of the party,” Novey said.

Hoyer’s long-held seat

The Fifth congressional district’s Hoyer announced his retirement on Jan. 8, marking 22 terms in Congress and the end of a 60-year career in state and federal politics. He first entered the House in 1981 after winning a special election to replace Representative Gladys Noon Spellman and has held the seat since.

The race to replace Hoyer is particularly crowded, with 24 total Democratic candidates currently on the ballot, including current frontrunners Adrian Boafo, Rushern Baker and Harry Dunn.

Experts anticipate the race as an opportunity to send a message to Washington and voice any dissent against President Donald Trump’s administration. The district’s proximity to the District of Columbia makes it home to many federal workers and Marylanders who commute into the nation’s capital for work.

Boafo currently serves a Maryland State Delegate representing District 23 in Prince George’s County, a seat he’s held since January 2023.

Senator Angela Alsobrooks and Governor Wes Moore both endorsed Boafo on May 8.

“As delegate, he’s fought to raise the minimum wage, make schools cellphone free and stop Wall Street from buying up homes and pricing hard-working Marylanders out,” Moore said in a statement. “When families feel the burden from rising energy bills he was the first legislator to call for a moratorium on utility rake hikes.”

Hoyer also endorsed Boafo — who previously worked on the retiring representative’s campaign — in January.

According to Boafo’s campaign website, his policy platform includes, among others: overturning Citizens United v. FEC; outlawing members of Congress from trading stocks; investing in green energy and protecting the Chesapeake Bay; ending government shutdowns; investing in the nine federal and military installations in the district.

Baker served as county executive for Prince George’s County from 2010 to 2018 and as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2003 where he represented District 22B in northern Prince George’s County.

Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, who held the office between 2007 and 2015, endorsed Baker in April, noting in a statement that Baker could stand up to Trump and “protect and strengthen Social Security — not chip away at it.”

Dunn was a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who served on Jan. 6, 2021, where he clashed with rioters for hours — for which he received the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Citizens Medal — and has centered his political platform on opposition to Trump and his whitewashing of the riot.

Dunn ran for office in Maryland’s third district in 2024, but was defeated by Representative Sarah Elfreth.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Dunn on March 11, crediting his service on Jan. 6 and his efforts to “protect Marylanders and all Americans from extremists like Donald Trump.”

According to Dunn’s campaign website, his policy platform includes a mix of national and local issues that include: restoring international alliances and participation in NATO; restoring federal positions wiped out by Trump and DOGE; enacting laws to prevent election interference; protecting the Chesapeake Bay; and opposing ICE.

The state’s fifth congressional district includes much of Price George’s and Anne Arundel counties, as well as all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties along the western Chesapeake coast.

In the 2024 election, Hoyer garnered nearly 68% of the vote over Republican challenger Michelle Talkington.

Age and Israel influencing reelections

Last year in the sixth congressional district — made up of Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick counties, and parts of Montgomery county in the northwest of the state — Representative April McClain Delaney defeated Republican Neil Parrott 53.2% to 46.8%.

McClain Delaney’s biggest challenger in her reelection effort is David Trone, who previously held the seat before his unsuccessful campaign for Senate against Alsobrooks in 2024’s Democratic primary.

Trone co-founded and owns the country’s largest independent retailer, Total Wine & More, and ran a primarily self-funded campaign in 2024. According to his campaign’s Federal Election Commission contribution filings, Trone has raised a total of $26.1 million, $25 million of which comes from Trone himself.

Novey compared Trone’s campaign to billionaire Tom Steyer’s for California governor, who narrowly missed advancing to the general election after finishing third place in an all-party primary.

“I think Trone is due, he’s campaigned for Senate, he also tried to communicate that he was left of Alsobrooks on certain issues,” Novey said. “Here, we’ll see if that is successful.”

One issue that Novey highlighted in the sixth district was Israel’s devastating war on Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. McClain Delaney has reportedly received over $142,172 in donations from AIPAC, the political action committee dedicated to maintaining Israeli American relations, according to Track AIPAC.

Because Trone has largely self-funded his campaign, he has not received donations from AIPAC, but has historically supported Israel outside of calls for a ceasefire and the ouster of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The seventh district represents Baltimore, where Representative Kweisi Mfume defeated Republican Scott Collier 80.4% to 17.2% in 2024.

In this year’s primary race, Mfume’s biggest challenger is Mark Conway, who has characterized the election as a chance for generational change — Mfume is 77 years old, while Conway is 37.

“Conway is running a campaign that’s really trying to make age one of the key issues, and that’s something a lot of Democratic primary voters are compelled by,” Novey said. “With the 2024 election and issues around former President Biden’s age in office as well as many of the Democrat congressional representatives that I’m including. I think it’ll be an issue that determines who comes out.”

According to the Pew Research Center, the current 119th Congress marked a shift in the generational makeup in either house.

The median age of voting members in the House is 57.5 years, down from the recent high of 58.9 in 2021-2023. In the Senate, the median age is 64.7 years compared to 65.3 at the start of the previous Congress.

Between 2017 and 2025 the median age of the Senate had risen, from 62.4 in 2017 to 65.3 by 2025.

On the other side of the age issue in district seven, Novey noted, is Mfume’s decades of service in Baltimore and around the region. He called him “a giant” in the city and the region, noting Mfume holds a lot of credibility and has an extensive political network that could pose a significant hurdle for Conway.

Novey said the candidates’ position on Israel is also likely to play a factor in the race, as Democrats of all ages indicate negative views on Israel and its war on Gaza.

According to the Pew Research Center, negative views of Israel among Democrats aged 18 to 49 have increased since 2022 from 62% to 71% in 2025, while Democrats 50 and older jumped from 43% to 66%.

Track AIPAC reported Mfume received $171,833 from pro-Israel political action committees and endorsed Conway against the incumbent.

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