Maryland's 3rd Congressional District

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District

Incumbent

Sarah Elfreth

Assumed office: January 3, 2025

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Sarah Elfreth (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Maryland representatives represented an average of 773,160 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 723,741 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on June 23, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent Sarah Elfreth (D) and Felix Seier (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on June 23, 2026.

		Candidate
		Sarah Elfreth
	Submit photo	Felix Seier

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Sarah Elfreth (D) defeated Rob Steinberger (R) and Miguel Barajas (L) 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

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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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

Republican primary

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.
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See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Yuripzy Morgan (R) in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Sarbanes (D)	60.2	175,514
		Yuripzy Morgan (R)	39.7	115,801
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	287

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 291,602
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Ben Beardsley (D) and Jake Pretot (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on July 19, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Sarbanes	84.6	63,790
	Submit photo	Ben Beardsley	9.1	6,854
		Jake Pretot	6.3	4,728

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,372
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Malcolm Colombo (D)
• Eselebor Okojie (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Yuripzy Morgan (R) defeated Joe Kelley (R), Antonio Pitocco (R), Thomas Harris (R), and Amal Torres (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on July 19, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Yuripzy Morgan	33.6	13,198
	Submit photo	Joe Kelley	22.7	8,924
	Submit photo	Antonio Pitocco	20.5	8,041
	Submit photo	Thomas Harris	12.6	4,966
		Amal Torres	10.6	4,171

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,300
= 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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See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Charles Anthony (R) 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.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Joseph Ardito (D) and John Rea (D) 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

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 133,905
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Carole Brown (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Charles Anthony (R) defeated Reba Hawkins (R), Thomas Harris (R), Rob Seyfferth (R), and Joshua Morales (R) 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

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,895
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Jette (R)

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Charles Anthony (R) and David Lashar (L) in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Sarbanes (D)	69.1	202,407
		Charles Anthony (R)	28.3	82,774
		David Lashar (L)	2.6	7,476
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1%	223

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 292,880 (100% precincts reporting)
= 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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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Adam DeMarco (D), Eduardo Rosas (D), and John Rea (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Sarbanes	82.3	64,567
		Adam DeMarco	8.6	6,778
		Eduardo Rosas	6.2	4,847
	Submit photo	John Rea	2.9	2,300

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 78,492
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

Charles Anthony (R) defeated Thomas Harris (R) and Rob Seyfferth (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Charles Anthony	43.6	6,935
	Submit photo	Thomas Harris	36.0	5,722
	Submit photo	Rob Seyfferth	20.5	3,254

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 15,911
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Previous election results

2016

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. In Maryland's 3rd Congressional District, incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated Mark Plaster (R), Nnabu Eze (G), and Ann Dalrymple (D write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Sarbanes defeated challenger John Rea in the Democratic primary, while Plaster defeated Thomas Harris to win the Republican nomination. The primary elections took place on April 26, 2016.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Sarbanes Incumbent	63.2%	214,640
	Republican	Mark Plaster	33.9%	115,048
	Green	Nnabu Eze	2.8%	9,461
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	526
Total Votes				339,675
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John Sarbanes Incumbent	87.2%	101,355
John Rea	12.8%	14,917
Total Votes		116,272
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mark Plaster	63.6%	25,455
Thomas Harris	36.4%	14,564
Total Votes		40,019
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

2014

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 3rd Congressional District of Maryland held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent John Sarbanes (D) defeated challenger Charles Long (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Sarbanes Incumbent	59.6%	128,594
	Republican	Charles Long	40.4%	87,029
Total Votes				215,623
Source: Maryland Secretary of State Official Results

General election candidates

• Charles Long
• John Sarbanes - Incumbent a

June 24, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary

• John Sarbanes - Incumbenta
• Matthew Molyett

Republican Primary

• Thomas Harris
• Michael Jackson
• Charles Longa

2012

See also: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012

The 3rd Congressional District of Maryland held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, in which incumbent John Sarbanes (D) won re-election. He defeated Eric Delano Knowles (R) and Paul Drgos, Jr. (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Sarbanes Incumbent	66.8%	213,747
	Republican	Eric Delano Knowles	29.6%	94,549
	Libertarian	Paul Drgos, Jr.	3.4%	11,028
	N/A	Other Write-ins	0.2%	535
Total Votes				319,859
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections "Representative in Congress"

2010
On November 2, 2010, John Sarbanes won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Wilhelm (R), Jerry McKinley (L) and Alain Lareau (Constitution) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Sarbanes incumbent	61.1%	147,448
	Republican	Jim Wilhelm	36%	86,947
	Libertarian	Jerry McKinley	2.2%	5,212
	Constitution	Alain Lareau	0.7%	1,634
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	188
Total Votes				241,429

2008
On November 4, 2008, John Sarbanes won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Thomas E. "Pinkston" Harris (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Sarbanes incumbent	69.8%	203,711
	Republican	Thomas E. "Pinkston" Harris	30.1%	87,971
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	166
Total Votes				291,848

2006
On November 7, 2006, John Sarbanes won election to the United States House. He defeated John White (R) and Charles Curtis McPeek, Sr. (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Sarbanes	64%	150,142
	Republican	John White	33.8%	79,174
	Libertarian	Charles Curtis McPeek, Sr.	2.1%	4,941
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	229
Total Votes				234,486

2004
On November 2, 2004, Ben Cardin won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Robert P. Duckworth (R) and Patsy Allen (Green) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Cardin incumbent	63.4%	182,066
	Republican	Robert P. Duckworth	33.8%	97,008
	Green	Patsy Allen	2.8%	7,895
Total Votes				286,969

2002
On November 5, 2002, Ben Cardin won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Scott Conwell (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Cardin incumbent	65.8%	145,589
	Republican	Scott Conwell	34.2%	75,575
Total Votes				221,164

2000
On November 7, 2000, Ben Cardin won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Colin Harby (R) and Joe Pomykala (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 3 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ben Cardin incumbent	75.7%	169,347
	Republican	Colin Harby	24%	53,827
	Libertarian	Joe Pomykala	0.1%	238
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	406
Total Votes				223,818

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Maryland after the 2020 census

Maryland adopted new congressional district boundaries on April 4, 2022, when Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed revised redistricting legislation that the General Assembly had finalized on March 30, 2022. Hogan signed the new map after state Attorney General Brian Frosh withdrew his appeal of Circuit Court Judge Lynne Battaglia's ruling overturning the state's previous congressional redistricting plan. The state Senate approved the revised congressional district boundaries 30-13 with all votes in favor by Democrats and all votes opposed by Republicans on March 29, 2022. The House of Delegates approved the revised map on March 30, 2022, by a vote of 94-41 with all 'yes' votes by Democrats and 40 Republicans and one Democrat voting 'no.'

How does redistricting in Maryland work? In Maryland, the primary authority to adopt both congressional and state legislative district lines rests with the state legislature. The governor submits a state legislative redistricting proposal (an advisory commission appointed by the governor assists in drafting this proposal). The state legislature may pass its own plan by joint resolution, which is not subject to gubernatorial veto. If the legislature fails to approve its own plan, the governor's plan takes effect. Congressional lines are adopted solely by the legislature and may be vetoed by the governor.

The Maryland Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous, compact, and "give 'due regard' for political boundaries and natural features." No such requirements apply to congressional districts.

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 3rd Congressional District of Maryland after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Maryland after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Maryland State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

According to Azavea, a geographic information systems firm in Philadelphia calculating the compactness of congressional districts across the country, Maryland's new congressional districts are among the least compact and most gerrymandered in the nation. A December 2011 report cited Maryland's 3rd Congressional District, represented by John Sarbanes​, as the least compact. Maryland’s odd geography, split by the Chesapeake Bay and its major tributaries may contribute to the poor scores. However, the mapping of the districts does not follow every nook and cranny of the bay’s inlets.

On March 30, 2012, the 3rd District was included in a list released by the National Journal of the top ten most contorted congressional districts due to redistricting.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+12. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 3rd the 106th most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+10. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 10 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 3rd the 129th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 61.7%-36.2%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+10. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 10 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 3rd the 128th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 61.7% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 36.2%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+13. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 3rd Congressional District the 101st most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.02. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.02 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Maryland
• Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
• Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2022
• Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020
• Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 3

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)