Maryland hasn’t historically been a battle ground for Republicans hoping to reach Congress. Only one of eight congressional districts has voted for a Republican in the House of Representatives since 2012. In the Senate, Maryland Democrats have held a monopoly since the 1986 election.

The 2024 election cycle has sparked optimism for Maryland Republicans. Former Gov. Larry Hogan entered this year's race to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin. 

Polls from Gonzales Research & Media Services showed he obtained massive popularity despite the state’s solidly blue tilt – leaving office with a 77% approval rating.

Hogan’s reputation as a moderate, anti-Trump Republican is also seen as a boon considering only one in three Marylanders voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.

In addition to raised hopes in the Senate, a pair of factors has also boosted the competitiveness of a House seat in northwest Maryland.

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Election forecasters have remained skeptical of Republicans’ odds, though. The Economist, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, FiveThirtyEight, and Inside Elections – give the GOP similarly low odds to win either seat.

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“If you’re voting for governor, you are voting more for the person and not for the party,” said Cook Political Report’s Senate and Governors Editor Jessica Taylor. “But if you’re voting for Senate, you’re voting for who you want to control the Senate, and that is Hogan’s biggest challenge.”

Although polling data is much more limited in Maryland’s 6th District, what does exist offers House-hopeful Neil Parrott more cause for optimism. Two August polls – one by Gonzales, and the other a Republican-sponsored poll – showed Parrott and April McClain Delaney within just two points of each other.

Read the full story here.

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Reddit post by Danielle Hodes

Have any of you, especially electioneers and poll watchers, had a less than satisfactory experience with election judges this year? I've been electioneering for decades, and so far had one chief judge lie to me about electioneering laws and, on another day, be outright rude when I reported a disruptive voter for possible intimidation in the parking lot. I also dealt with another judge who put up a sign telling voters they couldn't carry campaign materials into the polling station (VOTERS! Not electioneers.) And I had to advocate for some new voters who understood a judge to say that they needed their voter cards in order to vote. This was in one location, just since early voting started.
Has the training changed? Is this a result of fewer people being willing to be election judges since it has become more dangerous? Is it just in my area? I'm tired of calling the Board of Elections to chastise them.

In and out in less than 10 minutes

I keep getting YouTube ads from Larry Hogan telling me that Angela Alsobrooks applied for a mortgage. I want to ask, why is that a bad thing? I don't get it. Thanks everyone.

There’s a little-known conservative power player in the nation’s school board elections, and it’s endorsed more candidates in Maryland than in any other state. 

The 1776 Project PAC, which says on its website that it supports “reform-minded conservatives who oppose political indoctrination and believe in parental rights,” has endorsed 19 Maryland school board candidates in nine of the state’s 24 school districts. 

The conservative political action committee has spent $75,409.58 toward helping school board candidates in the state.

The endorsements come as the state’s Democratic Party announces strategic targeting of 24 “extreme” conservative candidates.

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This isn’t the 1776 Project PAC’s first foray into Maryland’s election. In 2022, the political action committee campaigned for at least three Maryland school board candidates, but not without incident. 

A year ago, the state prosecutor and the Maryland State Board of Elections fined the PAC more than $20,000 for its campaign practices during the 2022 school board elections. The fine stems from what the 1776 Project PAC did in November 2022, when it sent 13,879 text messages to Carroll County voters urging them to vote for certain candidates.

Read the full story.

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Has anyone gotten to a voting location and been told your have to turn your phone completely off or leave it outside? I just went to the Board of Elections in Owings Mills and the poll workers at the door told me "that's what they're being told".

This isn't the first time my household has gotten mailers from an out of state operations pushing for Larry Hogan.
The mailers we got from a Northern Virginia address at least made sense geographicly but Texas? Also why is there a PAC called Old Line PAC in Texas? Seems disingenuous and unethical at best and outright fraudulent at worst.

What would an example of “compelling State interest” be in that context?

I apologize if this has been answered already! I searched a bit but couldn't find anything that definitively applied to my situation.

So here's my situation. I am/(was?) registered to vote in Baltimore City. About a month ago I moved to another county still in the state of Maryland. Now, as some recently relocated folks tend to do, I took my good ole time to go on the MVA site to change my address.

While doing so I was prompted to re-register to vote at my NEW current address. I then followed the prompts and did exactly that.

Now I have a few questions...

1. Am I now a registered voter at my new address in this different county effective immediately and I should plan to vote at my new local poling place?

2. Did I attempt to change my address too close to election day and because of this I'm not switched over in time and should still vote based on my previous address?

3. Is there somewhere I could contact to confirm with them where I should be casting my ballot on election day?

Again, sorry if this is a dumb question. I just really don't want to make a mistake here! TIA!

Despite having “Republican” under his name on Maryland’s ballots, former Gov. Larry Hogan has been running for the U.S. Senate on the notion that he’s more of an independent, someone who can work on either side of the political aisle.

That messaging hasn’t stopped Hogan’s campaign from receiving significant support from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, as well as two top Republican senators vying to replace him as the next GOP Senate leader: John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota.

Here are some major donations compiled by Capital News Service:

• Hogan’s campaign has received more than $235,000, including a $75,000 contribution on Sept. 25, from the Cornyn Victory Committee, according to Federal Election Committee reports filed on Tuesday.
• Politico reported that Thune’s super PAC, New Heights Action, has given $1 million to PACs to help Hogan’s campaign.
• New Heights Action has given $750,000 to Maryland’s Future, a super PAC supporting Hogan, according to the FEC filings.
• A McConnell-linked super PAC, Senate Leadership Fund, gave $2 million to Maryland’s Future in July.
• Maryland’s Future has been behind a wave of advertising engulfing the state and had $16 million left to spend as of Sept. 30.

Angela Alsobrooks' campaign has held a fundraising advantage over Hogan’s campaign in recent months. She is also leading Hogan in a University of Maryland Baltimore poll released on Oct. 9. The poll gave Alsobrooks a nine-point lead in a race that was neck-and-neck only a month ago.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, the Democratic and Republican candidates for Senate respectively, debate on Oct. 10. (Michael Ciesielski Photography/Courtesy of Maryland Public Television)

Hogan’s party ties were a major focus in his Oct. 10 debate with Alsobrooks, with the Prince George’s county executive repeatedly warning of the dangers of a Republican-controlled Senate.

More than 30% of those surveyed in the UMBC poll cited either support for Democratic control of the Senate or reproductive rights as their reason for voting for Alsobrooks.

Read the full story here.

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If you’d like to stay in the loop with our coverage, you can see our content at https://cnsmaryland.org/. We are a student-powered news organization at the University of Maryland, Philip Merrill College of Journalism. 

So I live abroad and was born in Maryland and want to register to vote. Checked my status and was told I am inactive voter. I need to update my address so was wondering how do I do that? Do I need to re-register and fill out the FCAP form again or something?

On November 5th, Maryland will vote not just for President, but for Congress, for local offices, and ballot measures. Register and vote so you'll have a say in what kind of country America will be!

##Register to vote

In Maryland, there is no deadline to register to vote. You can register on Election Day, if you choose. You may register to vote here.

In Maryland, the deadline to request a mail-in ballot is that the Board of Elections must receive your request by October 29th. You may follow the instructions here to start that request.

##Voting in person

Election Day is November 5, 2024. If you wish to vote in person, you may find your polling place here.

Maryland has early in-person voting from October 24th to October 31st at voter centers. See the State Board of Elections page for locations.

##Voting by mail

Mail ballots must be received by November 5th, so mail your ballot back promptly. You can also personally deliver your ballot to any voting center or a dropbox - see this State Board of Elections page for locations.

If you mail your ballot, you can track it here.

Please let me know if you have any questions!