Maryland Democrats choose House nominees as Republicans seek challenger for Gov. Moore

Maryland voters are casting primary ballots on June 23 in contests that are likely to shape the state’s congressional lineup and define the Republican challenge to Gov. Wes Moore.

The day’s biggest races are clustered in a state where primaries often matter more than November in many districts. Democrats are choosing nominees in closely watched House contests, including the open 5th District seat left by retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer, while Republicans are selecting a gubernatorial nominee to face Moore in the fall.

A primary with outsized stakes

Maryland is heavily Democratic, with Democrats holding seven of the state’s eight U.S. House seats. That means the winners of Tuesday’s primaries are likely to enter the general election as the favorites in several races, especially in the party’s congressional contests.

The open 5th District race has drawn particular attention because it will fill the seat held for decades by Hoyer, one of Maryland’s most prominent Democrats. AP reported that 24 Democratic candidates were on the ballot for the seat, reflecting the scale of the scramble to succeed him.

Adrian Boafo has emerged as one of the best-known candidates in that contest, with endorsements from Hoyer, Moore and other prominent Democrats. The race is being watched as both a test of local party alliances and a battle to inherit an influential district in the state’s congressional delegation.

House contests at the center of the fight

Another closely watched race is in the 6th District, where Rep. April McClain Delaney is facing former Rep. David Trone in a rematch. The contest has attracted major attention and spending, according to reporting from AP and Axios, and is one of the clearest examples of how much is at stake in Maryland’s Democratic primaries.

The 6th District race matters beyond the personalities involved because it is part of the broader fight over how Maryland’s federal delegation will look after the primaries are settled. In a state where general-election outcomes are usually less competitive than primary contests, the intraparty winner often becomes the decisive winner.

The AP’s primary-day coverage said Democrats are choosing nominees in several key House contests at once, with the open 5th District and the 6th District rematch drawing the most attention.

Republicans choose Moore’s challenger

On the Republican side, voters are narrowing a crowded field for governor. AP said nine Republican candidates were competing for the nomination, a field that will determine who carries the party’s challenge against Moore.

Dan Cox and Ed Hale were among the notable Republican contenders identified in reporting. Whoever wins the primary will face a Democrat who is seeking a second term and who remains one of the party’s most visible governors.

For Republicans, the governor’s race is the marquee contest of the primary, because the nominee will define the tone and strength of the fall campaign against Moore. For Democrats, it is a chance to keep control of the statehouse while also locking in the party’s advantage in congressional races.

What happens next

Maryland’s primaries are expected to settle the main questions quickly once results are counted, but the official winners in the most competitive races will determine the next phase of the campaign season.

The main open questions are whether Boafo, another candidate or a different late-surging contender wins the 5th District nomination; whether Trone or McClain Delaney prevails in the 6th District; and which Republican emerges from the governor’s race.

Those outcomes will set the stage for the November general election in a state where the primary is often the real election, especially for congressional seats. As the ballots are counted, the contests will also offer an early measure of Maryland Democrats’ direction after Hoyer’s retirement and of the strength of the Republican effort to challenge Moore.