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The candidate longtime U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer anointed as his successor has won the Democratic nomination in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo had 32.1% of the votes when the Associated Press called the race. He bested 23 other Democrats, many drawn into contest when Hoyer announced his plans to retire after 46 years in office.

Previously, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore handily defeated his only challenger in the Democratic primary election.

The AP called the race for Moore 14 minutes after polls closed. He won 89.4% of the votes counted.

Another early race call emerged from Maryland’s 1st District, currently represented by Rep. Andy Harris. The AP declared him the winner of the GOP primary.

Harris’ district has leaned Republican for most of the past 45 years. A handful of Democratic primary candidates were vying to take him on.

And in the 6th District, David Trone was trying to take his former congressional seat back from April McClain Delaney in what’s been a contentious race between the former political allies.

A few hours before the polls closed, police activity shut down a Route 50 ramp leading to the polling place at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church of Lanham, Maryland. , the state board of elections suggested alternate driving routes and voting with a provisional ballot at the Prince George’s County Board of Elections office in Largo.

Another go at the governorship

In 2022, Dan Cox won the GOP primary for governor and was endorsed by then-former President Donald Trump, only to lose with 37% of the vote to Democrat Wes Moore, at the time a political newcomer.

Cox represented Carroll and Frederick counties from 2019 through 2023 as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. He is competing with eight other Republicans for a shot at a rematch.

Another GOP candidate leading the field is Ed Hale, a retired banker from Baltimore. Hale, a self-described lifelong Democrat, announced he was switching parties at the same time he announced his gubernatorial campaign in 2025.

Gov. Wes Moore faced one primary challenger. Eric Felber is a physician with a family medicine clinic in Bethesda. He previously ran against Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 2024 Democratic primary for Maryland’s 8th District, losing with 5.2% of the vote.

After nearly 5 decades, a new face in Maryland’s 5th

The congressional district is heading for a generational shift as Rep. Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving Democrat in the U.S. House, moves aside after 46 years. Hoyer was in Congress at the beginning of the Ronald Reagan era.

The 5th District has long been a Democratic stronghold. Nevertheless, three Republicans were running for their party鈥檚 nomination.

Among the Democrats, the race was far more crowded. The two dozen candidates on the ballot included Rushern Baker III, a former Maryland delegate and Prince George鈥檚 County executive; current Prince George’s Council member Wala Blegay; Maryland Del. Adrian Boafo, a former Hoyer campaign manager; and Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who is suing to block President Donald Trump鈥檚 1.8 billion Jan. 6 fund.

Hoyer endorsed Boafo, his former campaign manager.

The district stretches from northern Prince George鈥檚 and western Anne Arundel counties through Southern Maryland.

Millionaire vs. billionaire in Maryland’s 6th District

Rep. April McClain Delaney, running for a second term in Congress, was defending her seat from the man she succeeded in the office and six other Democrats.

David Trone, a three-term congressman, ran for Senate in 2024 and lost the primary to Angela Alsobrooks. At the time, he endorsed Delaney’s House bid.

Federal Election Commission data show both candidates spent millions of dollars of their own money on this and previous campaigns.

Delaney’s wealth comes from her husband John Delaney, a Forbright Bank founder who represented the 6th District before Trone.

Trone, who told 草莓传媒’s Kate Ryan that money is a problem in politics, is the billionaire cofounder of Total Wine & More.

The sprawling 6th District stretches from western Maryland to part of Montgomery County.

Democrats compete for a chance to flip Maryland’s 1st District

Of the state鈥檚 eight U.S. House members, Rep. Andy Harris is the lone Republican. Maryland Democrats would like to make it nine for nine, but after an unsuccessful redistricting bid earlier this year, the only place to do so this election cycle is at the ballot box.

Harris has represented the Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore County in Congress since 2010.

Four Democrats were competing for the chance to flip Maryland鈥檚 1st District in November: Victor Allen Guidice, Dan Schwartz, George Walish and Randi White.

Harris also had a GOP primary challenger. Chris Bruneau, a veteran and business owner, campaigned on term limits, cutting federal spending and Veterans Affairs oversight.

Prince George鈥檚, Montgomery County executives

In Prince George’s County, the top elected official was defending a seat she’s held for only a year. And in Montgomery County, term limits prevented the current county executive from running again.

Aisha Braveboy became the Prince George’s county executive in 2025, in a leadership shuffle that followed predecessor Angela Alsobrooks’ U.S. Senate win in 2024.

Braveboy鈥檚 challengers in the Democratic primary were Billy W. Bridges, Marcellus Crews, Charnell D. Ferguson and Gregory Holmes. There was no Republican candidate.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich had to step aside after serving two four-year terms. The five Democrats vying to replace him were Mithun Banerjee, Peter James and County Council members Andrew Friedson, Evan Glass and Will Jawando.

The Republican candidates were Shelly Skolnick and Esther Wells.

Elrich did not sit out this election, however. He ran for an at-large seat on the county council.

草莓传媒’s John Domen contributed to this report.

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