Five things to know about Maryland’s primary election results

Maryland’s primary results set up what will be a nationally significant U.S. Senate contest in November and all but decided other races, especially in Baltimore City, where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans.

Here were some of the night’s highlights:

‘Money can’t buy you love’

“What do they say, money can’t buy you love?” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said to fellow supporters of Angela Alsobrooks at the U.S. Senate candidate’s election night watch party.

It was a variation of a line that Alsobrooks, who won the Democratic primary contest, had used herself.

Neither Miller nor Alsobrooks used his name, but they were alluding to Democratic primary opponent David Trone and the more than $60 million he spent to try to secure the nomination for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin.

Trone lent his campaign more money than any Senate candidate in the country during the 2023-24 election cycle.

There may have been some voter backlash to his many TV and radio ads, and mailers. More than a few voters told The Baltimore Sun they got fed up.

“Anybody that can spend $64 million on ads — granted, it’s his own money — but give it a break,” Democratic voter Jana Castle, of Columbia, said. “Quality, not quantity.”

Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, will face Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan in November.

Throwing a curveball

In the waning days of the Baltimore mayoral race, long-shot candidate Thiru Vignarajah threw a curveball. Appearing at a joint news conference with leading challenger Mayor Sheila Dixon, he cast his support behind the former mayor and urged his supporters to do the same.

The sudden shift left election watchers to wonder whether Vignarajah’s small but loyal constituency could be enough to push Dixon to victory over incumbent Mayor Brandon Scott.

Voters proved Tuesday that was not the case. Scott declared victory Tuesday night shortly after The Associated Press called the contest in his favor. The first-term mayor opened a 6,300-vote margin between himself and Dixon, a gulf too wide to be filled with outstanding mail-in votes.

“There might be some votes left to be counted,” he said. “But I think it’s safe to say that we’re destined for a second term.”

Fighting against an all-male delegation

State Sen. Sarah Elfreth won a heavily contested 22-way Democratic race, and April McClain Delaney, a former official in President Joe Biden’s administration, emerged from a field of 15 Democrats to win nominations for open congressional seats. Elfreth is seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes in the 3rd Congressional District, while Delaney will compete for Trone’s seat in the 6th District.

“It’s been a while since Maryland sent a woman to D.C.,” Elfreth said Tuesday night, referring to the lack of women in the state’s 10-person federal delegation since U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski retired in 2017.

Elfreth is running in the district covering Howard County and parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. Among her primary competitors was Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who rode his national profile after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection to a well-funded first-time campaign for office. Attorney Robert Steinberger was leading the Republican primary in the race but had not been declared the winner as of early Wednesday morning.

Delaney — in the district covering Garrett, Allegany, Frederick, Washington and parts of Montgomery counties — defeated Del. Joe Vogel and others. In November, she will face someone with recent experience in the district — former Del. Neil Parrott, the Republican nominee who lost to Trone in 2020 but gained ground on him in 2022 in a rematch. Parrott beat former GOP gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox in Tuesday’s primary.

Nick Mosby concedes

Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen was declared the winner of the three-way race to be the Democratic nominee for City Council president.

Cohen secured 50% of the vote by 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, and declared himself the victor over former City Councilwoman Shannon Sneed and incumbent City Council President Nick Mosby at his election night watch party in Mount Vernon.

Mosby, who lost the already crumbling political empire he forged with his ex-wife, former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, conceded Wednesday morning.

Starting early in the 2nd Congressional District

Johnny Olszewski Jr. emerged early in his effort to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger.

Olszewski, a two-term Baltimore County executive, began laying the groundwork for a campaign months before Ruppersberger announced in February that he would not seek reelection. Unlike the more crowded races in the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts, Olszewski faced only a handful of opponents, none of whom matched his funds or endorsements, which included Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Cardin.

“It has been an honor to serve as Baltimore County executive. I think what we’ve done and what we’ll continue to do can serve as a model of what we can do to bring people together to face hard challenges,” Olszewski told supporters.

Baltimore Sun reporters Sam Janesch, Emily Opilo, Hannah Gaskill and Lia Russell contributed to this article.