Joshua Morales

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Joshua Morales

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 14, 2024

Personal

Birthplace

Baltimore, Md.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Technician

Contact

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Joshua Morales (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 3rd Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on May 14, 2024.

Morales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Joshua Morales was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His career experience includes working as a technician. Morales has been affiliated with the NRA, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, and National Wild Turkey Federation.

Elections

2024

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (May 14 Democratic primary)

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (May 14 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Sarah Elfreth defeated Rob Steinberger and Miguel Barajas in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Elfreth (D)	59.3	236,681
		Rob Steinberger (R)	37.9	151,186
		Miguel Barajas (L)	2.6	10,471
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	862

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 399,200
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Elfreth	36.2	29,459
		Harry Dunn	25.0	20,380
		Clarence Lam	11.7	9,548
		Terri L. Hill	6.5	5,318
		Mark S. Chang	5.0	4,106
		Aisha Khan	2.7	2,199
		Mike Rogers	2.6	2,147
		John Morse	1.8	1,447
		Abigail Diehl	1.7	1,379
		Lindsay Donahue	1.5	1,213
		Juan Dominguez	1.3	1,025
		Michael Coburn	0.7	583
		Malcolm Colombo	0.6	527
		Don Quinn	0.5	408
		Kristin Lyman Nabors	0.5	397
		Jeffrey Woodard	0.4	352
		Gary Schuman	0.4	286
		Mark Gosnell	0.3	221
		Jake Pretot	0.2	162
		Matt Libber	0.2	159
	Submit photo	Stewart Silver	0.1	78
		Dan Rupli	0.0	34

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 81,428
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Sarbanes (D)
• Vanessa Atterbeary (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rob Steinberger	25.1	8,766
		Arthur Baker Jr.	19.9	6,931
		Bernard Flowers	17.3	6,028
		Joshua Morales	9.1	3,159
		Jordan Mayo	8.4	2,918
	Submit photo	Thomas Harris	8.2	2,857
		Ray Bly	5.8	2,015
	Submit photo	John Rea	3.2	1,120
		Naveed Mian	3.1	1,085

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 34,879
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Morales in this election.

2020

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes defeated Charles Anthony in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Sarbanes (D)	69.8	260,358
		Charles Anthony (R)	30.0	112,117
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	731

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 373,206
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes defeated Joseph Ardito and John Rea in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Sarbanes	82.5	110,457
		Joseph Ardito	13.4	17,877
	Submit photo	John Rea	4.2	5,571

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 133,905
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Carole Brown (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Charles Anthony defeated Reba Hawkins, Thomas Harris, Rob Seyfferth, and Joshua Morales in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charles Anthony	41.7	12,040
		Reba Hawkins	22.6	6,535
	Submit photo	Thomas Harris	16.0	4,623
	Submit photo	Rob Seyfferth	11.1	3,210
		Joshua Morales	8.6	2,487

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,895
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Jette (R)

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joshua Morales completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Morales' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Joshua Morales, I am running for Maryland 3rd congressional district. I have lived in Maryland all my life, growing up in Baltimore City, moving throughout Carroll and Baltimore County before settling outside of Annapolis. I have lived through the poverty, violence and addiction that is taking over our state. I’ve overcome statistics that said I would be in jail or dead. I’m proud to say I was able to take a different path than the one laid out for me, but my past has allowed me to understand and resonate with the challenges the average person is facing. I hope to be the voice for those who feel silenced by their situation. I believe in God, the constitution and the second amendment. I’m a candidate for the everyday American.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I understand the struggle a large majority of Marylanders are facing. In my role as a member of congress I will use my vote and voice to get inflation and increasing costs under control. I’ve known the stress of having to decide between which bills pay this month while making sure your family is fed. Working towards reducing inflation, advancing American energy independence, and cutting income taxes for working families and small businesses is my main priority. I want to see the weight of the increased financial burdens lifted from members of my district.
• I don’t believe our country will survive without a border or vetting the people who are entering our country. There has to be a call to change our immigration and boarder policies. Bring back the “Remain in Mexico” policy, increased funding for our border patrol and ICE agents, immediately deporting those living in the United States Illegally and repelling federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. While I believe that legal immigration can contribute greatly to society, there has to be a process of law and order. I’m committed to securing our border and protecting our citizens.
• As Americans, we have the constitutional right to own, carry and use firearms. Government Regulation or Gun Control is unconstitutional, the Second Amendment gives us the right to protect ourselves, family, and property. Maryland has some of the strictest gun controls laws and we still have one of the highest homicide rates in America. Criminals don’t consent to background checks and stricter gun laws only make unarmed citizens easier targets. I will promote more education for Marylanders on their right and the laws in place that allow them to legally carry a firearm and place more focus towards reducing crime and violence from our streets and acknowledging the mental issues that are plaguing members of our society.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Getting inflation and increasing costs under control, controlling our borders and immigration, lowering taxes, protecting gun rights, and reducing crime and violence.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Someone who is driven, disciplined, and prepared to work harder than everyone else around them to achieve their goals. Someone who isn’t willing to sacrifice their morals for gain, that is transparent, accountable, and honest. Strong, Self-confident, and committed to public service.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I’ve always fallen in place as a leader. I’m not afraid of embracing challenges and hard work. I’m a fighter, reliable, understanding, and truthful. I won’t sugar coat honesty to spare feelings, I believe everyone has the right to transparency and understand, especially coming from a political figure. I’m prepared to be the voice and change my community is asking for.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Listening to those they’ve committed to serve. Communicating their plan of action and remaining truthful. Acting as a voice for their community, working towards bettering the lives of its members and remaining compassionate for those around them. Doing everything in their political power to keep the promise they made.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

September 11, 2001. I was 13 when the towers fell. I didn't understand the impact it had on our nation at the time, but I understand them now, and why we have to fight so hard to never allow anything like that to ever happen again.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

The majority of my adolescence and early adulthood would have been considered a struggle. I was raised in poverty, surrounded by violence and addiction. I didn’t have structure or traditional household values. I was within the system that has failed our youth and instead of providing guidance, we were provided with punishments and consequences for actions we didn’t understand as children. Leading to path that felt inevitable as an adult. I struggled with the idea there were no positive outcomes available to me and the outlook for my future was limited to a jail sentence or an early grave. It was difficult to break a cycle after it’s all you’ve ever known. I find it to be a driving factor as to why I’m running for political office. I was able to overcome a cycle so many aren’t able to escape from and it’s a goal of mine to show more of our youth that there are more opportunities than just what’s in front of them.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe it’s beneficial, but I don’t believe it’s necessary. I think life experiences can pave just as much of a path for success as anyone who has been raised in a world of politics. I think it’s crucial to understand how our government works and being educated on policies and history is instrumental for someone to be a successful politician. I also believe that when someone is saturated in one experience, they’re often blind to what’s actually going on around them. We have a lot of out of touch officials in office, some of which can’t resonate with the people their vowing to represent.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The Woke Liberal Agenda. Previously when someone who was well-informed on social injustice issues, they were considered woke. The message has been lost along the way and now it’s only welcoming toxicity. It stopped raising awareness of social inequalities and has created a climate of fear and intimidation. Political correctness, cancel culture and affirmative action have only divided our country. It’s promoting a weak victim mentality, stifling free speech and division. It’s difficult to focus on all the issues plaguing our country from the outside when we’re fighting ourselves within it.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I believe it would be very difficult to make actual changes in two years. Just as you’re beginning to get your footing, your time is up. I would support slightly longer terms to see if more of an impact can be made.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I fully support term limits. Term limits would act to counterbalance some of the advantages of incumbency and reduce incentives that incur wasteful spending and ignored policies. If term limits were in place, elected officials would have more of an incentive to meet the goals they put in place and make meaningful changes because their time is limited. I’m not opposed to extending the existing terms from 2 years to potentially a longer period of time.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

There is a difference between compromising on a necessary policy and compromising on your principles. I wouldn’t sacrifice my morals or principal values just because something is considered by the majority as more desirable. If the compromise comes at a cost or eroding my votes trust, that’s not a compromise I’m willing to make.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

We need to understand how public funds are managed and spent, how decisions are made and why and the basic evidence and information so that we’re able to have informed support. We should be able to trust where funds are going, by doing so we would be able to hold our government officials accountable. How can you remain supportive or loyal to a plan that you don’t understand.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Interview with The Baltimore Sun

Morales highlighted the following themes in an interview with The Baltimore Sun on March 14, 2024. The questions from The Baltimore Sun are bolded and Morales' responses follow below.

“

Why are you running for office? To protect our constitutional rights, to make a difference in under served communities and use the platform to give a voice to the groups of people, similar to myself who see the issues our community and country are facing but go unheard. Do you believe, as President Joe Biden has said, that “democracy is on the ballot” and, if so, in what way? No, I believe the election results are dependent on more than the ballot. Will you accept the presidential election result once the totals have been certified by the states and any legal challenges adjudicated? Yes Do you support additional assistance for Ukraine’s military forces two years into Russia’s invasion? No, I believe we have provided to much assistance and support. I don’t believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a large enough threat to the US to justify the amount of aid we’ve provided, while our own nation and citizens are suffering. Should the United States be speaking out more clearly, as Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen has suggested, about civilian casualties in Gaza? While I don’t believe this is an issue that should be overlooked, I think we suffer from casualties everyday in our own country. Maryland had the 3rd highest violent crime rate in the region in 2022, that’s an issue as a Maryland representative that I would be more concerned about. Should Congress act to protect abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision? I believe every woman should have the right to an abortion under certain circumstances, including gestational limits and exceptions in the case of rape, incest or the life of the pregnant person or child. Constituents are increasingly expressing concern about suburban crime. What more can the federal government do to help? The Federal Government can increase accountability, enacting stricter consequences for violent crimes. Provide aid to law enforcement and resource centers to build trust and understanding between the police and community. During his time in Congress, John Sarbanes was widely seen as a leader in political reform including reducing the influence of big-monied interests. Do you see an obligation to carry on that legacy? I believe it’s important to push back against the influence of money in politics. If we were able to take big money out of elections, it would lessen special interests and force congress to recognize issues that individuals actually care about and not just what they can profit off of.

”

2020

Joshua Morales did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Joshua Morales campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Maryland District 3	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2020	U.S. House Maryland District 3	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2024 Elections

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Candidate

U.S. House Maryland District 3

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Footnotes

[show]

Maryland's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Angela Alsobrooks (D)

Chris Hollen (D)

Representatives

District 1

Andrew Harris (R)

District 2

John Olszewski (D)

District 3

Sarah Elfreth (D)

District 4

Glenn Ivey (D)

District 5

Steny Hoyer (D)

District 6

April McClain-Delaney (D)

District 7

Kweisi Mfume (D)

District 8

Jamie Raskin (D)

Democratic Party (9)

Republican Party (1)