Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. will be the Democratic nominee in the race to replace longtime U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, setting up a November election between him and Republican Kim Klacik, who also won in Tuesday’s primary.
And in the highly competitive race to succeed U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth emerged from a field of 22 Democrats, including former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, to win the nomination.
The 2nd and 3rd congressional districts were two of a few competitive primary races for congressional seats in the Baltimore region and in Western Maryland on the ballot Tuesday.
About 120 people gathered at Union Craft Brewing in Hampden to celebrate Olszewski’s victory when The Associated Press called the race around 8:45 p.m. Among those in attendance were Ruppersberger and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who were introduced by Olszewski’s father, former Baltimore County Councilman John Olszewski Sr.
“This win isn’t mine, it’s ours,” he said, thanking his wife, Marisa, and daughter, Daria. “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.”
Elfreth, at her watch party in the Atreeum at Soaring Timbers in Annapolis, addressed a jovial crowd of about 150 supporters after The Associated Press called the race at about 10:30 p.m. She acknowledged she was “one step closer” to Congress and became emotional as she thanked her parents and her campaign manager.
“It’s been a while since Maryland sent a woman to D.C.,” said Elfreth, sparking a wave of applause.
Dunn, who launched his campaign after building a national profile in the aftermath of defending the U.S. Capitol during the attacks on Jan. 6, 2021, conceded at his gathering in Ellicott City.
“What the hell was I thinking, running for Congress? Have y’all seen it?” Dunn joked, adding that he “hates” former President Donald Trump and would be spending all his energy between now and the general election supporting Democrats up and down the ballot. He told The Baltimore Sun he has no regrets about running, despite giving up a secure job on the Capitol Police force and a pension.
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All eight of Maryland’s U.S. House districts have elections this year for new two-year terms. Five incumbents easily won their party’s primaries Tuesday — Andy Harris, an Eastern Shore Republican, and Democrats Glenn Ivey, a Democrat representing most of Prince George’s County; Steny Hoyer, representing Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert counties; Kweisi Mfume, representing Baltimore City and parts of Baltimore County; and Jamie Raskin, representing Montgomery County.
A trio of other Democrats were not running again — Ruppersberger, who represents Baltimore County; Sarbanes, who represents Howard County and parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties; and David Trone, who ran for U.S. Senate instead of reelection in the district covering Garrett, Allegany, Frederick, Washington and parts of Montgomery counties.
The three open seats are rare in Maryland as members usually win reelection easily, often for decades. Ruppersberger will have held his seat for 22 years when he retires in January. For Sarbanes, it will be 18 years.
And for both, the primary is expected to be the deciding moment in picking their replacements. Democrats are widely favored in both districts in November — a reality that led to a massive, 22-person field in the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District.
Elfreth and State Sen. Clarence Lam, and Dels. Terri Hill, Mike Rogers and Mark Chang were among the highest-profile and most well-funded candidates in that district. Juan Dominguez, an Anne Arundel County businessman who originally launched a U.S. Senate campaign, was also running.
But the entrance of Dunn created another wild card. Dunn raised more than $4.6 million — roughly three times his closest fundraising competitor, Elfreth — and got the backing of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Cardin signaled his support for Elfreth, in her second term representing Anne Arundel County, last week but did not formally endorse her.
Elizabeth Nidiritu, 52, took her 18-year-old daughter with her to cast a vote for Elfreth at Howard High School in Ellicott City.
“As I told [my daughter], every vote counts, and if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. And if [your candidate] loses, at least you voted,” Ndiritu said.
A handful of supporters at Elfreth’s watch party wore green shirts with the slogan “A woman’s place is in the House of Representatives.”
“She has good bills and follows them through and gets them done,” said Ginger DeLuca, 79, of Annapolis, who said she aligned with Elfreth on issues like protecting the environment and supporting public education.
Jana Castle, 69, and Johnny Castle, 74, a couple who live in Columbia, said they were most excited to vote for Dunn and Prince George’s County Angela Alsobrooks in the U.S. Senate race.
“They stand for more of what we believe in, what’s important,” Jana Castle said. “We need to get somebody that has a better view, not a politician’s view. We need to get them in, to get some fresh blood in.”
Attorney Robert Steinberger was leading a nine-way Republican primary to face Elfreth in the general election, though no winner was called by The Associated Press as of late Tuesday night.
Voters at the polls and candidate parties in Maryland’s primary election | PHOTOS
A similarly crowded field of 15 Democrats and seven Republicans vied for their respective party’s nomination in the Western Maryland district Trone is vacating.
The Democratic winner was April McClain Delaney, a former Biden administration official who received the backing of officials like Pelosi, Raskin, and Hoyer. She had faced Dels. Lesley Lopez and Joe Vogel, and Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez.
Delaney, whose husband is former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, raised the most money — about $2 million as of late April and then another $825,000 in self-funding in recent days, according to her last campaign finance filing.
Former Del. Neil Parrott won the Republican primary in the district, defeating former delegate and 2022 Republican nominee Dan Cox.
The open seat with the least amount of competition in Tuesday’s primary was Ruppersberger’s, for which Olszewski had started building a campaign even before the incumbent’s announcement to retire.
Ruppersberger endorsed Olszewski in February, handing the two-term county executive the advantage of being backed by an incumbent with deep pockets to represent the district, which covers Baltimore and Carroll counties, and part of Baltimore City.
In that district, Olszewski faced Del. Harry Bhandari, who touted his humble background as an American success story; Baltimore City high school arts teacher Sia Kyriakakos; medical assistant Jessica Sjoberg; insurance agent Clint Spellman; and HR specialist Sharron Reed-Burns.
Olszewski was winning with about 82% of the vote when the race was called. If he wins in November, he would step down as county executive and the Baltimore County Council will appoint someone to serve the remainder of his term, which ends in 2026.
Olszewski declined to comment Tuesday about the November matchup against Klacik, a Middle River radio host who last ran in the 7th Congressional District in 2020. Though she lost overwhelmingly to Mfume, her campaign raised an eye-popping $7 million after former President Donald Trump promoted her campaign on social media. She has so far not managed to replicate that fundraising feat.
Baltimore Sun reporters Jonathan M. Pitts, Lilly Price and Dana Munro and Baltimore Sun Media reporters Sherry Greenfield, Allana Haynes and Thomas Goodwin Smith contributed to this article.
