2018 Maryland gubernatorial election

The 2018 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018. The date included the election of the governor, lieutenant governor, and all members of the Maryland General Assembly. Incumbent governor Larry Hogan and Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford, both Republicans, were re-elected to a second term against Democrat Ben Jealous, the former NAACP CEO, and his running mate Susan Turnbull. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state carried by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Hogan became the second Republican governor of Maryland to win re-election, and the first since 1954. This was the first Maryland gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates received over one million votes.

This is the last time that a Republican won a statewide election in Maryland.

Background
At the presidential level, Maryland is a staunchly Democratic state due to the large amount of Democratic voters in the Washington metropolitan area and Baltimore City. Maryland has not seen a Republican presidential candidate win its votes since 1988, and the state has not been within 15% since 2004; Hillary Clinton won the state by 26 points over Donald Trump (60% to 34%) in 2016, Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 26 points in 2012 (62% to 36%), and Obama defeated John McCain by 25 points in 2008 (62% to 37%).

Hogan was elected governor in 2014, defeating then-lieutenant governor Anthony Brown by a margin of 51–47; the result was considered one of the biggest election upsets that year. Prior to Hogan's victory, Bob Ehrlich, elected in 2002, had been the only Republican elected as Governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew. However, Ehrlich was defeated for reelection in 2006 by Martin O'Malley and defeated again in 2010, when he faced O'Malley in a rematch.

In April 2018, Hogan had a 68% approval rating, the second-highest approval of any governor in the country, only behind Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, who had a 71% approval rating. Despite the state's Democratic leaning, Hogan had a high approval rating among all partisan groups (65% approval from Democrats, 64% of Independents, and 81% of Republicans).

Nominated

 * Larry Hogan, incumbent governor

Declined

 * Barry Glassman, Harford County Executive
 * John Grasso, Anne Arundel County Councilman

Nominated

 * Ben Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP
 * Running mate: Susie Turnbull, former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee

Eliminated in primary

 * Rushern Baker, Prince George's County executive
 * Running mate: Elizabeth Embry, former Maryland Attorney General Crime Division Chief and candidate for Mayor of Baltimore in 2016
 * Ralph Jaffe, perennial candidate
 * Running mate: Freda Jaffe, sister of Ralph Jaffe
 * James Jones II
 * Running mate: Charles Waters
 * Richard Madaleno, State Senator
 * Running mate: Luwanda Jenkins, businesswoman and former Maryland Special Secretary for Minority Affairs
 * Alec Ross, author and former State Department official
 * Running mate: Julie Verratti, co-founder of Denziens Brewing Co, former senior advisor at the Small Business Administration, and LGBT political activist.
 * Jim Shea, attorney
 * Running mate: Brandon Scott, Baltimore City Councilmember
 * Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, former policy director to former First Lady Michelle Obama and former State Department official
 * Running mate: Sharon Blake, former president of the Baltimore Teachers Union

Deceased

 * Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive (deceased May 10, 2018)
 * Running mate: Valerie Ervin, senior advisor to the Working Families Party and former Montgomery County Councilmember
 * (Because of Kamenetz' death, Valerie Ervin became a candidate for governor. See under "Withdrew" heading for more information.)

Withdrew

 * Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, policy consultant and wife of U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings
 * Valerie Ervin, former senior advisor to the Working Families Party and former Montgomery County Councilmember
 * Running mate: Marisol Johnson, former vice chair of the Baltimore County Board of Education and small businesswoman
 * (Valerie Ervin, who had been the running mate of Kevin Kamenetz before he died on May 10, became a candidate for governor with Marisol Johnson as running mate on May 17. This came too late to change the primary ballot, so notices were posted at polling places informing voters that votes for Kamenetz and Ervin would be counted as votes for Ervin and Johnson. On June 12, Ervin withdrew from the race. )

Declined

 * John Delaney, U.S. Representative (ran for President in 2020,)
 * Peter Franchot, State Comptroller
 * Brian Frosh, Attorney General
 * Doug Gansler, former attorney general and candidate for governor in 2014
 * Ike Leggett, Montgomery County executive
 * Maggie McIntosh, state delegate
 * Thomas Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, former United States Secretary of Labor, and former Maryland Secretary of Labor
 * Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former mayor of Baltimore
 * David Trone, businessman and candidate for MD-08 in 2016 (running for MD-06)
 * Heather Mizeur, former state delegate and candidate for governor in 2014
 * Joseline Peña-Melnyk, state delegate and candidate for MD-04 in 2016
 * Kenneth Ulman, former Howard County executive and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014

Polling

 * Notes

Results
[[File:Maryland Governor Democratic primary, 2018.svg|thumb|Results by county: Map legend

{{legend|#87aade|Jealous—40–50%}}

{{legend|#afc6e9|Jealous—30–40%}}

{{legend|#afe9af|Baker—30–40%}}

{{legend|#87de87|Baker—40–50%}} ]]

Declared

 * Ian Schlakman, entrepreneur and former co-chair of the Maryland Green Party
 * Running mate: Annie Chambers, reverend and Baltimore City Resident Advisory Board Member

Results
Following the Maryland Green Party's nominating procedure, the delegates of the Coordinating Council, which is the party's State Central Committee, made the decision to nominate the gubernatorial ticket as no other candidate had filed by the party's March 30, 2018, deadline. More than one ticket seeking the nomination would have required the party to conduct a primary, an obligation not mandated by the State Board of Elections for non-principal parties.

Declared

 * Shawn Quinn, nominee for governor in 2014 and nominee for the House of Delegates in 2010
 * Running mate: Christina Smith

Debates
Larry Hogan and Ben Jealous met for their one and only scheduled debate on September 24. The debate was livestreamed in the evening by the Maryland Public Television.

Predictions

 * Notes

Polling

 * Notes


 * with Rushern Baker


 * with Richard Madaleno


 * with Alec Ross


 * with Jim Shea


 * with Krish Vignarajah


 * with Valerie Ervin


 * with Kevin Kamenetz


 * with John Delaney


 * with Tom Perez

Results by congressional district
Hogan carried 6 of 8 congressional districts, including 5 held by Democrats. This included the district of then-House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, which Hogan lost to Hoyer in 1992.