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Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Maryland's 3rd Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 24, 2026
Primary: June 23, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Maryland

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Maryland's 3rd Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
Maryland elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 3rd Congressional District of Maryland, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is June 23, 2026. The filing deadline is February 24, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

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 election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 3

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


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Maryland

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Sarah Elfreth Democratic Party $545,652 $284,178 $292,213 As of September 30, 2025
Felix Seier Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Maryland's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
12/16/202512/9/202512/2/202511/25/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Maryland in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Maryland, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Maryland U.S. House Ballot-qualified party 1% of the eligible voters for the district $100 2/24/2026 Source
Maryland U.S. House Unaffiliated 10,000 $100 7/2/2026 Source


District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

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

Total votes: 399,200
Candidate Connection = 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

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

Total votes: 81,428
Candidate Connection = 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

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

Total votes: 34,879
Candidate Connection = 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.

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

Total votes: 291,602
Candidate Connection = 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

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
Image of John Sarbanes
John Sarbanes
 
84.6
 
63,790
Ben Beardsley
 
9.1
 
6,854
Image of Jake Pretot
Jake Pretot  Candidate Connection
 
6.3
 
4,728

Total votes: 75,372
Candidate Connection = 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

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
Image of Yuripzy Morgan
Yuripzy Morgan
 
33.6
 
13,198
Joe Kelley
 
22.7
 
8,924
Antonio Pitocco  Candidate Connection
 
20.5
 
8,041
Thomas Harris
 
12.6
 
4,966
Image of Amal Torres
Amal Torres  Candidate Connection
 
10.6
 
4,171

Total votes: 39,300
Candidate Connection = 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.

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

Total votes: 373,206
Candidate Connection = 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

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
Image of John Sarbanes
John Sarbanes
 
82.5
 
110,457
Image of Joseph Ardito
Joseph Ardito  Candidate Connection
 
13.4
 
17,877
John Rea
 
4.2
 
5,571

Total votes: 133,905
Candidate Connection = 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

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
Image of Charles Anthony
Charles Anthony
 
41.7
 
12,040
Image of Reba Hawkins
Reba Hawkins  Candidate Connection
 
22.6
 
6,535
Thomas Harris
 
16.0
 
4,623
Rob Seyfferth
 
11.1
 
3,210
Image of Joshua Morales
Joshua Morales
 
8.6
 
2,487

Total votes: 28,895
Candidate Connection = 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

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_md_congressional_district_03.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

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

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.[5]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Maryland's 3rd Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
60.0% 37.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Maryland, 2024

Maryland presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 22 Democratic wins
  • 10 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R D D D D R R R D D D D R R R D D D R D D R R D D D D D D D D D
See also: Party control of Maryland state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Maryland's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Maryland
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 7 9
Republican 0 1 1
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 8 10

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Maryland's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Maryland, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Wes Moore
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Aruna Miller
Secretary of State Democratic Party Susan Lee
Attorney General Democratic Party Anthony Brown

State legislature

Maryland State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 34
     Republican Party 13
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 47

Maryland House of Delegates

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 102
     Republican Party 38
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 141

Trifecta control

Maryland Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty-two years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

See also

Maryland 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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Maryland congressional delegation
Voting in Maryland
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Democratic primary battlegrounds
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Ballot access

External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  5. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
Democratic Party (9)
Republican Party (1)