Here’s who is running to represent Maryland in Congress

This is the first election since Maryland lawmakers drew a new map — after a judge rejected the first version — following the once-every-ten-years census. We’ve previewed the races in the 1st, 3rd and 6th Congressional Districts and the U.S. Senate. Here’s a roundup of the other contests to represent Maryland in the U.S. House.

2nd District

Where: Most of Baltimore and Carroll counties, Northern Baltimore City

Democrat: C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (Incumbent)

Republican: Nicolee Ambrose

Ruppersberger has represented the 2nd District since 2003. He served 12 years on the House Intelligence Committee during the final raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout and the Edward Snowden NSA leaks.

He currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee, as well as the Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, Commerce and Science Subcommittees.

Before being elected to Congress, he served on the Baltimore County Council and as Baltimore County Executive.

After earning a B.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a B.M. in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Nicolee Ambrose worked in the private sector around the Baltimore area in law and business. She served as a George W. Bush appointee to the Department of Labor from 2002 to 2008. She has been Maryland’s committeewoman to the Republican National Convention since 2012.

“The new 2nd district is contiguous and much better represents the community than the previously gerrymandered mess,” said Ambrose. She added that voters in the community have told her that they are “exasperated that [Ruppersberger] votes with Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time.”

Jaime Lennon, campaign spokesperson for the Ruppersberger campaign, thinks it’s “interesting that [Ambrose] would accuse anyone of playing party lines” after serving 10 years as a “figurehead” for the Maryland Republican Party and Ambrose calling an endorsement from Donald Trump the “honor of a lifetime.”

Lennon added that Ruppersberger and his campaign team are proud of his voting record, which includes “increases to police funding, protecting the right to choose, lowering prescription drug costs ... if these put him in agreement with the President or the Speaker, we’re just fine with that,” Lennon said.

FiveThirtyEight calculates the district has an 11 point Democratic advantage following redistricting.

4th District

Where: Western Prince George’s and Eastern Montgomery counties

Democrat: Glenn Ivey

Republican: Jeff Warner

Anthony Brown is giving up his seat in the House to run for Maryland Attorney General; attorney Glenn Ivey hopes to take his place after winning the Democratic nomination.

Ivey has worked for the federal Department of Justice and served as legal counsel for several federal legislators, including former Maryland Sen. Paul Sarbanes and once-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. He also completed two terms as state’s attorney for Prince George’s County, from 2003 until 2011.

When asked what issues matter most to voters of the 4th District, Ivey said that “the most immediate pressure for people is the economy.”

Ivey said he supports the Biden administration’s efforts to alleviate inflation thus far and looks forward to using infrastructure updates to create jobs and improve people’s economic circumstances. He is also passionate about “aggressively prosecuting” people who participated in the January 6th insurrection and other extremists who “took the law into their own hands.”

Opposing Ivey is Republican Jeff Warner, a minister and missionary who has founded congregations across the country, including the one he now leads in Greenbelt.

His campaign website lists one of his priorities as returning to “our Judeo-Christian heritage … to the spiritual foundation of our nation.” Alongside calls for a more robust economy and cracking down on protesters, Warner’s website calls on supporters to “pray for him and our nation.”

FiveThirtyEight calculates the 4th District is one of the most Democratic-leaning in the country, with a 75 point advantage for Democrats.

5th District

Where: Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s, Eastern Prince George’s and Southern Anne Arundel counties

Democrat: Steny Hoyer (Incumbent)

Republican: Chris Palombi

Steny Hoyer is Maryland’s all-time longest-serving Congressman, representing the 5th District since 1981.

He currently serves as house majority leader, making him the second-highest ranking Democratic congressman after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. During his tenure, he helped pass landmark legislation, including raising the minimum wage and affirming the Paris Climate Accords.

Chris Palombi, Hoyer’s Republican challenger, is a former U.S. Capitol Police officer. After a five-year tenure, he left the force to pursue a career in web design; after working as a senior consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, he accepted an offer to serve as webmaster for St. Mary’s Ryken High School, where he also coaches the girls ice hockey team.

Palombi, endorsed by former Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich, hopes to unseat “career politician” Hoyer without “corporate [and] lobbyist obligations,” according to a campaign video on his website, despite a multimillion-dollar fundraising gap.

The race is projected as “solidly Democratic” by both FiveThirtyEight and other pollsters like the Cook Political Report.

7th District

Where: Baltimore City, some surrounding portions of Baltimore County

Democrat: Kweisi Mfume (Incumbent)

Republican: Scott M. Collier

Kweisi Mfume has served two separate stints as the representative for Maryland’s 7th District: from 1987 to 1996 and from 2020 until now, following the death of Elijah Cummings, who held the seat in between these two periods.

In the interim, Mfume served as the president of the NAACP, ran in the Democratic primary for Paul Sarbanes’ senate seat, and was CEO of the National Medical Association.

He is currently the vice-chair of the House Small Business Committee, and chairs the Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce.

Opposing Mfume is Scott Collier, a Dundalk man with a limited campaign presence.

Collier, who has worked as a construction contractor and runs the YouTube channel DundalkTV, has not submitted any campaign finance reports to the Federal Elections Commission and does not have a campaign website.

His Facebook banner image displays signs that read “Biden’s a lying cheating scumbag traitor” and “Trump won Biden lost” in block capital letters.

Neither candidate could be reached for comment. FiveThirtyEight calculates Democrats have a 55 point advantage in the district.

8th District

Where: Southeastern Montgomery County

Democrat: Jamie Raskin (Incumbent)

Republican: Gregory Coll

Jamie Raskin has represented the 8th district since 2017; this came on the heels of a ten-year tenure as a state senator for Montgomery County.

He was a champion of environmental issues as a state legislator, earning praise from Attorney General Brian Frosh for a “100%” voting record. He has held onto this reputation as a federal lawmaker, earning endorsements from the League of Climate Voters and Progressive Democrats of America.

Before his political career, Raskin was a constitutional law professor at American University for 25 years.

Gregory Coll is a rocket scientist from Rockville. He has an advanced degree in space system engineering and worked on high-profile aerospace initiatives, including the space shuttle program.

He lists military preparedness and technology as his top priorities on his campaign website, saying that the military will be needed to “combat growing threats domestically and abroad.” Coll also pledges to be a leader in space policy, which his website claims will be a $1 trillion sector in the coming decades.

In the final weeks of his campaign, FEC reports say that Coll has a little over $3,000 cash on hand; Raskin has over $3 million.

FiveThirtyEight calculates Democrats have a 53 point advantage in the redrawn district.

Jon Meltzer is a Maryland-based freelance journalist.

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