WASHINGTON (7News/AP) — Republican voters advanced strong Senate contenders in Maryland and West Virginia on Tuesday, giving the GOP a big boost in its push to claim control of Congress' upper chamber.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS
At the same time, Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump sought to project strength in low-stakes presidential primaries. And further down the ballot, a former West Virginia state lawmaker who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection lost his bid for U.S. House.
In Prince George's County, Maryland about 40,000 people voted in person on Primary Day, according to data shared at 6 p.m. Election administrators said polling places averaged about 3% to 5% turnout Tuesday. About 21,000 people voted by mail as of Monday.
Prince George's County saw 24,000 early ballots, according to officials.
In all, three states hosted statewide primary elections on Tuesday — Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia — as Republicans and Democrats picked their nominees for a slate of November elections that will decide the presidency and control of Congress.
None were more consequential than Senate primaries in Maryland and West Virginia.
Former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan won the nomination in Maryland, creating a serious challenge for national Democrats, who are clinging to a 51-49 Senate majority and are defending seats in more difficult states elsewhere. Hogan will face Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who could become the fourth Black woman in U.S. history to serve in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jim Justice won the Senate nomination in deep-red West Virginia, becoming the overwhelming favorite in the race to replace retiring Sen. Joe Manchin.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS
A TRUMP CRITIC GRABS MARYLAND’S GOP NOMINATION
In Maryland, Hogan gives Republicans a legitimate chance at picking up a Senate seat in the deep-blue state for the first time in more than four decades.
Hogan overcame his years-long criticism of Trump, a position that put him at odds with many Republican primary voters but will undoubtedly help him in the general election this fall. Maryland voters gave Biden a 33-point victory over Trump four years ago.
On the other side in the Senate contest, Democratic voters nominated Alsobrooks. The 53-year-old African American county executive had been endorsed by many of the state’s top officials, including Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Steny Hoyer.
Alsobrooks prevailed after a contentious and expensive primary against Rep. David Trone, a liquor store magnate who had invested more than $61 million into his unsuccessful bid.
Race was an issue in the Democratic primary and may be in the general election in the months ahead. Trone apologized in March for what he said was the inadvertent use of a racial slur during a budget hearing.
COMPLETE ELECTION COVERAGE
THE WEST VIRGINIA BATTLE TO REPLACE MANCHIN
Justice won his primary against U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney. With Manchin gone, the seat is almost guaranteed to turn red come November.
The Trump-endorsed Justice, a former billionaire with a folksy personality, is wildly popular in the state. A former Democrat, Justice switched to the Republican Party in 2017, announcing the change at a Trump rally.
Despite his connection to the former Republican president, Justice doesn't pander to Trump as much as most statewide Republican officials in the state. And he largely avoids focusing on some of the GOP’s favorite culture war issues, such as transgender rights.
Mooney had tried to win over conservatives by labeling Justice a “RINO” — which stands for “Republican in name only” — who would support Democratic policies. Justice did support Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, saying West Virginia couldn’t afford to turn away the money offered in the bill.
At a polling place in West Virginia’s capital city, voter Steve Ervin said his votes Tuesday were directly related to Trump.
“I really did an exhaustive study of the sample ballot of who I believe supported Trump and Trump supported them,” said Ervin, who works in the state’s unemployment office. “That’s what I made my whole decision on.”
West Virginia was also deciding its candidates for governor. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican nominee in the 2018 Senate race against Manchin, is running for the Republican nomination. He’s up against former state Rep. Moore Capito, whose mother is Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
TESTS OF STRENGTH IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
Biden and Trump have already amassed enough delegates to claim the presidential nominations at their respective national conventions this summer. And they added to their total Tuesday with wins in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia.
Yet voters on both sides hoped to register a significant protest vote Tuesday that would demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the Biden-Trump rematch.
Maryland progressives especially unhappy with the Biden administration’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas had encouraged voters to select “uncommitted to any presidential candidate” instead of Biden. There was no uncommitted option in West Virginia or Nebraska.
Everett Bellamy, a Democrat who voted early in Annapolis, said he voted “uncommitted” instead of Biden as a protest against the killing of women and children and noncombatants in Gaza.
“I wanted to send a message,” Bellamy, 74, said after leaving an early voting center.
Meanwhile, Trump's Republican critics cannot choose “uncommitted,” but they can choose his former GOP rival Nikki Haley, who will appear on the ballot in Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia despite formally suspending her campaign more than two months ago.
Derek Faux, an independent voter from Charleston, W.V., said he supported Haley, and in other Republican races, he said he voted for the candidates he believed were least like Trump.
“I would rather see moderate, reasonable Republicans than some of the other folks,” said Faux, a librarian.
TWO SIDES OF THE INSURRECTION
Tuesday's elections also included two candidates who were intimately involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In Maryland, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn is among nearly two dozen Democrats running in the state’s 3rd Congressional District. The 40-year-old Democrat was in the Capitol working to repel the violent mob on Jan. 6.
In West Virginia, a former member of the House of Delegates, Derrick Evans, lost his bid to oust incumbent Republican Rep. Carol Miller in the 1st Congressional District. The 39-year-old Evans served a three-month jail sentence after livestreaming himself participating in the storming of the U.S. Capitol.
OTHER KEY RACES
In Nebraska, Republican Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts both won their primaries, one of the rare occasions when both senators in a state were on the ballot at the same time. And in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon fended off a challenge from his right flank.
In North Carolina, voters finalized their pick of the Trump-endorsed Brad Knott in what had become a one-person Republican primary in the state's 13th Congressional District.
PROBLEM AT THE POLL
Around 7 a.m., a voter contacted 7News and said she was asked to come back after an electric outage at the Holy Family Catholic Church polling location at 12010 Woodmore Road in Mitchellville. The election staff tells us that they had trouble with the machine which was down for an hour and had to turn away at least 10 people, some of whom stayed and waited in their cars.
Several other issues were reported in the Baltimore area like polling locations opening later.
WHEN TO VOTE
The Presidential Primary Election Day is May 14, 2024. Polls will be open from 7 am to 8 pm.
WHERE TO VOTE
Each registered voter is assigned a polling location. Find yours here.
HOW TO VOTE
Anyone eligible, but not yet registered, can register and vote at their polling place. Bring a Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration-issued driver's license, ID card, or change of address card; or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other government document with your name and new address.
You can check your polling place, here.
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER TO VOTE?
To register to vote, you must be:
- A U.S. citizen;
- A Maryland resident; and
- At least 16 years old*.
You cannot have been:
- Convicted of buying or selling votes;
- Under guardianship for mental disability and found by a court to be unable to communicate a desire to vote; or
- Convicted of a felony and currently serving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment. (Effective March 10, 2016)
- *You may register to vote if you are at least 16 years old but cannot vote unless you will be at least 18 years old by the next general election.
CANDIDATE PROFILES:
Maryland U.S. Senate
- Angela Alsobrooks- Democratic
- David Trone- Democratic
Congressional District 4
- Joseph Gomes- Democratic
- Glenn F. Ivey- Democratic
- Emmett Johnson- Democratic
- Gabriel Njinimbot- Democratic
- George McDermott- Republican
Congressional District 5
- Quincy Bareebe- Democratic
- Andrea L. Crooms- Democratic
- Steny Hoyer- Democratic
- McKayla Wilkes- Democratic
- Michelle Talkington- Republican
Congressional District 6
- Peter Choharis- Democratic
- George Gluck- Democratic
- Geoffrey Grammer- Democratic
- Ashwani Jain- Democratic
- Lesley J. Lopez- Democratic
- Tekesha A. Martinez- Democratic
- April McClain Delaney- Democratic
- Stephen R. McDow, II- Democratic
- Mohammad S. Mozumder- Democratic
- Adrian Petrus- Democratic
- Joel Rubin- Democratic
- Laurie-Anne Sayles- Democratic
- Joe Vogel- Democratic
- Destiny Drake West- Democratic
- Kiambo "Bo" White- Democratic
- Altimont Mark Wilks- Democratic
- Dan Cox- Republican
- Chris Hyser- Republican
- Neil C. Parrott- Republican
- Todd A. Puglisi- Republican
- Mariela Roca- Republican
- Tom Royals- Republican
- Brenda J. Thiam- Republican
Congressional District 8
- Eric Felber- Democratic
- Jamie Raskin- Democratic
- Cheryl Riley- Republican
- Michael Yadeta- Republican
Montgomery County Board Of Education At-Large
- Lynne Harris
- Sharif Hidayat
- Melissa Kim
- Jonathan Long
- Fitzgerald Mofor
- Rita Montoya
Montgomery County Board of Education District 2
- Brenda M. Diaz
- Ricky Fai Mui
- Rebecca Keller Smondrowsk
- Aby Thioye
- Natalie Zimmerman
Montgomery County Board of Education District 4
- Shebra Evans
- Bethany S. Mandel
- Laura M. Stewart
Prince George's County Board of Education District 1
- Tiffini L. Andorful
- Donna S. Barriteau
- Maria R. Gonzales-Jackson
- David H. Murray
Prince George's County Board of Education District 4
- Shayla D. Adams-Stafford
Prince George's County Board of Education District 5
- Robin Brown
- Kim Carter
- Iyamide House
- Zipporah Miller
Prince George's County Board of Education District 7
- Kenneth F. Harris, II
- Henrietta Maria Holiday
- Phelton C. Moss
Prince George's County Board of Education District 8
- Madeline L. Frazier
- Zakyia Goins-McCants
- Angela R. Jones
To learn more about other candidates, go to the Maryland State Board of Elections website.
