With people across the state unemployed and affected by federal job eliminations, grappling with rising gas prices and inflation, and worried about the future of democracy, Marylanders saw electoral barriers broken, a rise in early voting, and a passing of the torch, with the state’s legislative dean retiring after nearly 50 years in public service.
“We had a record-breaking last day of early voting. Over 124,000 voters and over 7,300 [same-day registrations]. Fourth-largest turnout ever during early voting,” said Maryland State Administrator Jared DeMarinis. “The most ever for a gubernatorial election. This was the highest cumulative turnout ever for early voting in a gubernatorial election too.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) was reelected by a landslide in his rematch against Republican Dan Cox.
Moore, who was endorsed by unions, civic leaders, and most of Maryland’s elected officials, outraised and outspent Cox by a wide margin in the general election and has campaigned in swing districts for down-ballot Democrats including Adrianne Mathis, Chuck Cook, and Josh Hastings.
Cox, a conservative Republican who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and called Vice President Mike Pence (R) a “traitor,” was a strong critic of Maryland’s vaccine policies during the pandemic and opposes Maryland’s reparations commission.
Moore’s reelection was expected by most observers, as was Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) and Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) strong victories over their respective challengers.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), on his final Election Day as a sitting member of Congress for 45 years, joined his mentee and Democratic nominee Adrian Boafo at the polls in Bowie.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D- Md.) and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-District 4) greeted voters at Bladensburg Elementary School midday on Election Day, joined by Lierman and Del. Julian Ivey (D- District 47).
In addition, Maryland saw a historic night, with several African Americans elected to county executive roles.
Julian Jones, Vanessa Atterbeary, Will Jawando, and Ernest Davis took the executive roles in Baltimore County, Howard County, Montgomery County, and Wicomico County, respectively. Ernest Davis will be the first African American executive on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the original home of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.
As the first Black man elected to his role, Jones closed his campaign with a speech at the Sheraton, proclaiming that “help is on the way” for Baltimore County residents.
“Hear me loud and clear: I stand ready to fight for you,” he said in his closing speech. “We will get to work on our commitment to build new schools and to give young people an opportunity to earn their first paycheck. We will build more homes in the right place and fight for lower electric bills.”
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy (D) won in her race against the write-in campaign of attorney Tonya Sweat.
“We have to invest in our talent and we have to provide platforms for our talent and I plan to do that over the next four years,” Braveboy, who also won the county executive special election in 2025, said during her election night event. “I also believe it’s important to be in the community. … I really want to be amongst the people. So what you will be seeing in the next four years is more community engagement activities, we will have more listening sessions. We will be able to respond quicker to the needs of our residents. … This is your government.”
Now that the election season is over, Braveboy declared: “It’s time to get back to work.”
With the blue wave clear in Maryland and across the nation — as Democrats took control of both the House and Senate — Alexis Solis, a Prince George’s County entrepreneur who ran for Congress during the primary election, is looking forward to the changes the midterms will bring.
“I want to see the Democratic Party become a party of accountability, economic opportunity, and results — not just promises,” Solis told The Informer. “Here in Maryland and across our country, we need stronger investments in small, minority, and women-owned businesses, working families, education, health care, and the next generation. We must embrace innovation, modernize government, and ensure economic opportunity reaches communities that have historically been overlooked.”
Prince Georgians Make Their Voices Heard with Changes for the Council
Long lines wrapped around the Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, after 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday night, as Prince Georgians worked to make their voices heard in a high-stakes midterm for the county and state.
“It has been invigorating to witness the turnout during this election. Voters know what is important, and we show up to vote our position on those issues,” Sweat told The Informer on Nov. 3, before polls closed. “Thank you, Prince George’s County. No matter what: never forget that your vote matters; your voice matters; and you are the power.”
Sweat received over 36,000 votes as a write-in candidate, rivaling the 2016 write-in campaign of former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon as one of the strongest write-in campaigns in Maryland’s history.
All seven of the sitting Prince George’s County Councilmembers were reelected, with Michelle Garcia (D-District 1), Victor Ramirez (D-District 2), and Tamara Davis Brown (D-District 9) poised to join the Council in December and Sydney Harrison (D) moving to an at-large seat.
However, Prince George’s also voted to eradicate at-large council seats in ballot question B. While Councilmembers Jolene Ivey (D) and Harrison will serve in the at-large roles for the next four years, their political futures remain uncertain.
The Council will pick a new chair in early December, shortly after the new members are sworn in.
“The first place we’re really going to see a change is the power balance on the county council. As we’re seeing right now, we will have those seats this term, but it’ll be the last term that we have the at-large seats,” Joel Peebles Jr., a policy analyst who ran as a Democratic District 6 council candidate in the June primary, told The Washington Informer. “And so we will see Jolene Ivey and Sydney Harrison take those seats and … many have said that those two have been the backbone defense against some of the things that we’ve seen with the grant process in Prince George’s County. Some have said that when we can’t get in contact with our district council member, we get in contact with the at-large.”
However, beyond communication challenges, Peebles Jr. sees the potential for further issues when the at-large seats are gone in 2030.
“The biggest thing right now is the power balance that we’ll see on the county council,” he continued. “It’ll shift the number of majority votes that are needed. Caucusing for legislation is always going to … come with complications, and shortening that number is definitely going to have an impact. And then we’re going to have to see an impact on financial allocations for not only the different districts, but the nonprofits that service those districts as well.”
With a number of challenges and developments in Prince George’s, such as the fight between the council and Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission and plans for the Sphere at National Harbor, Peebles has many questions about what’s next for the county.
“What districts are going to be supported the most, which districts are going to be targeted the most? How is the sphere development going to continue now that it’s passed? [There’s] the 151,000,000 budget deficit,” said Peebles on election night, appearing on The Informer’s digital channel WIN-TV alongside his father Bishop Joel Peebles Sr. “There are so many things that are on the table right now for Prince George’s County elected officials, that now doing this in the middle of all of that, is really going to make it for a show.”
Next Steps for State Delegates and Senators Representing Prince George’s
Every sitting delegate and senator representing Prince George’s has been reelected, and Democrats will retain veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate of the Maryland General Assembly.
Molly McKee-Seabrook (D-District 22), Tracy Gant (D-District 22), Keenon James (D- District 23), and LaTasha Ward (D-District 24) will be Prince George’s new representatives in the Maryland House of Delegates.
“I’m excited as this has been something I’ve been working on for the past eight years. I’m looking forward to the needed changes that the people want. There’s things out there that people want to make our state better. I have to be able to work across parties, and there’ll be a learning curve,” Ward told The Informer. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with everyone to make our state better because the people are counting on us to have their interests at heart. I want to thank everyone who voted for me during the primaries, and I’m asking for everyone’s prayers.”
Del. Tiffany Alston (D-District 24) is moving from the House of Delegates to the State Senate. She thanked past leaders for their mentorship and inspiration, including outgoing Sen. Joanne Benson (D- District 24).
“Thank you to the people of the 24 District for trusting me to carry on the rich legacy of our district from Senators like Broadwater, Trotter, and Nataniel Exum who laid the foundation for our success,” she told The Informer. “It is not lost on me that I will be following in the footsteps of my predecessor as the only woman from Prince George’s County. I am eternally grateful to our first elected woman, Senator Gloria Lawlah, who has been a true leader and mentor to me.”
For Solis, she is looking forward to keeping leaders accountable and bringing results in partnership with elected leaders.
“We need leaders who listen beyond election season and deliver measurable results. As a business owner and community leader, I believe our party must focus less on political rhetoric and more on improving people’s everyday lives,” she said. “We must earn people’s trust, not simply expect their votes.”
