Maryland
Maryland voter guide: What you need to know about the 2026 primary election – WTOP News
Races to watch in the June 23 primary include Democrats trying to unseat the state’s lone Republican in the U.S. House, and the crowded field seeking to fill retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer’s seat.
Maryland voters heading to the polls for the state’s June 23 primary election have not been through the same congressional redistricting back-and-forth faced by their neighbors in Virginia.
But their path to Election Day has not been entirely smooth.
The Maryland State Board of Elections announced in May that some mail-in voters received ballots for the wrong political party. The fix involved mailing nearly a half million corrected ballots.
As for Maryland’s own redistricting push, the clock for changes this election cycle ran out in April as state Senate president and Democrat Bill Ferguson resisted the changes, saying new maps could be redrawn in a way that hurts the party.
Democrats already dominate Maryland’s congressional delegation. Of the state’s eight U.S. House members, Rep. Andy Harris is the lone Republican.
Harris, who represents the Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore County, was first elected to Congress in 2010.
He faces one GOP challenger, Chris Bruneau, in the primary. The four Democrats vying for the chance to flip Maryland’s 1st District in November are Victor Allen Guidice, Dan Schwartz, George Walish and Randi White.
Dates at a glance
- In-person early voting: Thursday, June 11 through Friday, June 18. Early voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Registering to vote: The deadline to register and select a party affiliation online or by mail was June 2, but Maryland has same-day voter registration at early voting centers and polling places.
- Deadline to request a mail-in ballot: Tuesday, June 16 (if you want your ballot mailed to you, or Friday, June 19 (if you prefer to download and print your ballot)
- Election Day: Tuesday, June 23. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Who can vote?
The answer: Anyone who is registered. However, those who take advantage of Maryland’s same-day voter registration or are not affiliated with a political party will see very little on their ballots.
Voters who are registered as Democrats or Republicans will be given ballots for their respective party primaries.
Unaffiliated voters in Maryland can generally vote only for candidates running for nonpartisan offices such as the State Board of Education.
The deadline to select or change party affiliation for the primary was June 2, but voters can do so once advanced voter registration reopens after June 23.
Registering and updating voter registration
As noted above, the deadline to register online and by mail has passed, but new voters who bring one of the required documents can register and vote on the same day at any early voting center in their home county, or on Election Day at a polling place assigned to their home address.
The proof-of-residency document can be an MVA-issued license, ID card or change of address card. Also accepted are a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or another government document with your name and home address.
Voting in-person
Early voting centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Thursday, June 11 through Friday, June 18. Voters can head to any voting center in their home county.
Tuesday, June 23 is Election Day. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. These voters must go to their assigned polling place. The Maryland Board of Elections has a lookup tool.
Voting by mail
If in-person voting is inconvenient or impossible, Maryland voters can ask that their ballots be mailed to them or request a download.
Mailed ballots come with postage-paid envelopes. Voters who download their ballots must provide their own envelopes and stamps.
The last day to request a mailed ballot is June 16. Downloaded ballot requests must be in by Friday, June 19.
In both cases, the deadline to fill out and send a mail-in ballot is 8 p.m. on June 23.
Ballots can be dropped off at ballot drop boxes (here’s the list of locations), your local elections board, early voting centers or Election Day polling places.
They can also be dropped in the mail, of course, but you must ensure the ballot is postmarked by 8 p.m. on June 23.
There are no guarantees a ballot dropped in a mailbox on Election Day will be postmarked that day, and the Maryland Board of Elections warns ballots postmarked after the deadline will not be counted.
What is — and is not — on the June 23 ballot?
Voters in the primary will consider candidates for U.S. House races, and for several state and local races, which are listed in full here.
What Maryland voters won’t see on the ballot are U.S. Senate candidates. Chris Van Hollen’s seat will be up for grabs in 2028. Angela Alsobrooks’ term ends in 2030.
Federal Offices
- Representatives in Congress
State Offices
- Governor and Lt. Governor
- Comptroller
- Attorney General
- State Senators
- House of Delegates
- Judge of the Circuit Court
Local Offices
- County Executive
- County Council / Commissioner
- County Treasurers
- State’s Attorney
- Clerk of the Circuit Courts
- Register of Wills
- Judges of the Orphan’s Court
- Sheriff
- Board of Education seats in 22 out of the 23 Maryland counties (Anne Arundel is the exception) and the city of Baltimore.
Party Offices
- Democratic Central Committee Members
- Republican Central Committee Members
Primary races to watch
Maryland’s 5th congressional district
For the first time in almost five decades, Rep. Steny Hoyer is not on the primary ballot. The longest serving member of Maryland’s congressional delegation — and longest serving U.S. House member — announced in January that he would retire at the end of his term.
To say the seat has generated a lot of interest would be an understatement.
According to the Maryland State Board of Elections, three Republicans are running for their party’s nomination.
Democrats will see 24 candidates on the ballot. Hoyer has thrown his support behind Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo, who once served as his campaign manager.
Another candidate is Rushern Baker III, a former Maryland delegate and Prince George’s County Executive who is making a House bid after unsuccessful runs for governor in 2018 and 2022.
Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer suing to block President Donald Trump’s 1.8 billion Jan. 6 fund, is making his second House bid. He ran in 2024 in Maryland’s 3rd district and was defeated in the primary by Rep. Sarah Elfreth.
Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay is also running for the seat.
Maryland’s 6th congressional district
Rep. April McClain Delaney, seeking reelection, faces seven primary challengers. One of them is her predecessor, David Trone, who served three terms in Congress before his unsuccessful Senate bid in 2024. Trone endorsed and campaigned for McClain Delaney during her first House bid that year.
The race is also notable for the candidates’ personal wealth. Trone is the founder of Total Wine & More. McClain Delaney’s husband John Delaney, who represented the 6th district before Trone, founded Forbright Bank. Both candidates spent millions of their own money in previous campaigns for office.
Maryland governor
Incumbent Wes Moore is expected to brush off a challenge from fellow Democrat Eric Felber. Meanwhile, nine Republicans are competing to face Moore in November.
The GOP candidates leading the field in campaign contributions and expenditures are Ed Hale, a Baltimore business owner who switched parties last year, and Dan Cox, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
Cox is angling for a rematch with Moore. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022.
Prince George’s, Montgomery County executives
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy is defending the seat she won in the 2025 special election held after her predecessor, Angela Alsobrooks, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024.
Braveboy’s challengers in the Democratic primary are Billy W. Bridges, Marcellus Crews, Charnell D. Ferguson and Gregory Holmes. There is no Republican candidate.
And no matter the outcome of the 2026 primary and general elections, Montgomery County will have a new county executive. Term limits barred Marc Elrich from running for a third four-year term. But he’s not stepping away from local politics. Elrich is running for an at-large seat on the county council.
The Democrats running for the office are Mithun Banerjee, Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass, Peter James and Will Jawando. The Republican candidates are Shelly Skolnick and Esther Wells.
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MONTGEOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Rescue crews were searching early Thursday morning for a person reported missing in the Potomac River near Great Falls Park in Montgomery County, Maryland.
A spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service said a swift water team was called to the Great Falls Park/Potomac River area for a missing person in the water around 6:15 a.m. Initial reports indicated the missing person was with a group when he entered the water and did not resurface.
SEE ALSO | DC closes parts of Potomac, Anacostia waterways for Fourth of July security
Swift water teams were actively searching the area.
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Maryland’s Board of Public Works approved the state’s $48.5 million purchase of Laurel Park Race Track.
The acquisition was part of the $383 million state spending that was approved by the board on Wednesday.
State leaders say the investment in the horse track will be vital for the future of horse racing in Maryland, which also owns historic Pimlico Race Course.
The state’s acquisition of Laurel Park was delayed in May after a legislative committee requested a cost-benefit analysis and a 45-day review period. Laurel had previously been slated for demolition.
Maryland’s Stadium Authority approved the plan to buy Laurel Park and redevelop it into a “best-in-class horse training facility,” the governor’s office said in April.
“These investments reflect our commitment to building a stronger Maryland by supporting the infrastructure, institutions, and community resources that residents rely on every day,” Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman said. “By investing in projects that strengthen our economy, we are making sure Maryland remains a great place to live, work, and do business.”
Horse racing’s future in Maryland
Laurel Park Race Track hosted the 151st Preakness Stakes in May, as Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore undergoes renovations.
The state purchased Pimlico in 2024 in a transfer of ownership to renovate and turn the race course into the permanent home of Maryland’s thoroughbred racing.
Pimlico will open back up for the Preakness Stakes in 2027. The goal is to make Pimlico a year-round facility and host more than 100 racing days each year.
The redevelopment includes renovating the track surface and grandstand, adding additional stalls and a new training track, as well as redeveloping the surrounding Park Heights neighborhood.
Wrapping June’s National Gun Violence Awareness Month commemorations, community leaders, advocates and health care professionals met with Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey (D) to discuss community-based solutions to address safety concerns across Prince George’s County.
For Ivey, who served as state’s attorney for Prince George’s County from 2003-2011, gun violence solutions start with the community.
‘It’s not necessarily just funding, but it’s connecting people,” Ivey said during the June 29 conversation at Union Bar and Grill in Hyattsville. “You can be a catalyst on that front.”
The congressman listened and spoke to residents and representatives from gun violence and health organizations, including: University of Maryland Medical System CAP-VIP Program; University of Maryland Capital Region Hospital Trauma Services; University of Maryland Progress Initiative; Community Justice Action Fund; Hope in Action; Everytown for Gun Safety; Guns Down Friday; Jacob’s Ladder Youth Foundation; and Maryland Crime Victim’s Resource Center.
According to the Maryland Department of Health, firearms were connected to 17 injuries and 16 homicides in the county between January and May of this year. Between 2024 and 2025, homicides dropped by 40% from 96 fatalities to 57. Youth violence also declined, with 21 people under the age of 25 who died from firearms in 2025, a drop from 45 deaths in 2024.
Still Jawanna Hardy is working to reduce numbers even more.
“That bullet, it goes so far,” said Hardy, founder of Guns Down Friday. “It hits the entire community.”
One point of discussion was funding gaps for various programs addressing community violence, whether due to federal cuts, grant delays or inconsistent funds for state and local initiatives.
Many attendees present advocated for gun violence solutions starting with county programming,, primarily by establishing an office dedicated to gun violence prevention.
“It’s sustainable because it’s built into the state and county budget,” said Joseph Richardson, co-director of the University of Maryland’s gun violence research initiative PROGRESS.
For Donica Thompson, an Injury Prevention and Outreach coordinator for Trauma Services at UM Capital Region Health, the county needs more support for basic necessities like mental health, education, housing and employment.
“I feel the community needs to take more action,” Thompson said. “Create opportunities for the youth, create more jobs for the youth.”
The conversation ended with Ivey affirming the need to begin building towards a local office to address gun violence prevention through conversations with Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
“I think it makes a lot of sense, because [then] we have a stakeholder,” Ivey said.
As a staunch advocate for addressing gun violence, Hardy was overall optimistic about the conversation and hopes it’ll prove to be effective for the county in the future.
“I just pray that there is a solution to the problems, not just us talking about it,” she told The Informer. “But I’m feeling very hopeful.”
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