Maryland's 8th congressional district stretches from the northern Washington, D. C., suburbs north to the Pennsylvania border. Following the 2020 redistricting cycle, it will no longer reach north into Frederick and Carroll counties, instead being concentrated solely in Montgomery County, comprising many economically and culturally diverse inner suburbs of Washington D.C. The district is currently represented by Democrat Jamie Raskin.
Maryland's 8th congressional district | |||
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Representative |
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Area | 297.06 sq mi (769.4 km2) | ||
Distribution |
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Population (2021) | 795,556 | ||
Median household income | $118,287[1] | ||
Ethnicity |
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Cook PVI | D+29 (2022)[2] |
The district was created after the 1790 census in time for the 1792 election, was abolished after the 1830 census, and was reinstated after the 1960 census.
During redistricting after the 2000 census, the Democratic-dominated Maryland legislature sought to unseat then-incumbent Republican Connie Morella[citation needed]. One proposal went so far as to divide the district in two, effectively giving one to state Senator Christopher Van Hollen, Jr. and forcing then-incumbent Connie Morella to run against popular Maryland State Delegate and Kennedy political family member Mark Kennedy Shriver[citation needed]. The final redistricting plan was less ambitious, restoring an eastern, heavily Democratic spur of Montgomery County removed in the 1990 redistricting to the 8th District[citation needed], as well as adding an adjacent portion from heavily Democratic Prince George's County located in Maryland's 5th congressional district. Although it forced Van Hollen and Shriver to run against each other in an expensive primary, the shift still made the district even more Democratic than its predecessor, and Van Hollen defeated Morella in 2002.
From 2003 to 2013 the district mostly consisted of the larger part of Montgomery County, also including a small portion of Prince George's County. The district now includes most of Frederick County (but not the City of Frederick), southern Carroll County, and a swath of Montgomery County that narrows in the north and then widens in the south to encompass nearly all of the area "inside the beltway." The redrawn district is slightly less Democratic than its predecessor. While the Carroll and Frederick portions of the district tilt strongly Republican, the Montgomery County portion has twice as many people as the rest of the district combined, and Montgomery's Democratic tilt is enough to keep the district in the Democratic column. Since Morella left office, no Republican has crossed the 40 percent mark.
When Van Hollen left his seat in a successful bid to succeed Barbara Mikulski in the U.S. Senate, Jamie Raskin won the Democratic primary, all but assuring he would take over the seat in the general election. The primary campaign was the most expensive House race in 2016, due primarily to the large amounts spent by wealthy businessman and runner-up David Trone.[3]
Following the 2020 redistricting cycle, starting in 2023, the 8th district will be contained entirely in Montgomery County. It will comprise all of Montgomery County's 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 13th districts, and all of Montgomery County's 5th district excluding Fairland, Calverton, and Burtonsville, which will instead become part of the 4th congressional district.[4] The redistricting makes the 8th district one of the most diverse in the country, where no racial group constituting over 40% of the population,[5] with a population that is approximately 38% White, 22% Black, 21% Hispanic, and 18% Asian, with 38% of the population also being immigrants.[6]
Election results from presidential races | ||
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Year | Office | Results |
2000 | President | Gore 60% - 36% |
2004 | President | Kerry 69% - 30% |
2008 | President | Obama 73% - 24% |
2012 | President | Obama 61% - 36% |
2016 | President | Clinton 64% - 31% |
2020 | President | Biden 69% - 28% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Gilbert Gude | 71,050 | 54.40 | |
Democratic | Royce Hanson | 59,568 | 45.60 | |
Total votes | 130,618 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Gilbert Gude (Incumbent) | 109,167 | 60.89 | |
Democratic | Margaret C. Schweinhaut | 70,109 | 39.11 | |
Total votes | 179,276 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Gilbert Gude (Incumbent) | 104,647 | 63.38 | |
Democratic | Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr. | 60,456 | 36.62 | |
Total votes | 165,103 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Gilbert Gude (Incumbent) | 137,287 | 63.90 | |
Democratic | Joseph G. Anastasi | 77,551 | 36.10 | |
Total votes | 214,838 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Gilbert Gude (Incumbent) | 104,675 | 65.92 | |
Democratic | Sidney Kramer | 54,112 | 34.08 | |
Total votes | 158,787 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Newton Steers | 111,274 | 46.82 | |
Democratic | Lanny Davis | 100,343 | 42.22 | |
Independent | Robin Ficker | 26,035 | 10.96 | |
Total votes | 237,652 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael D. Barnes | 81,851 | 51.27 | |||
Republican | Newton Steers (Incumbent) | 77,807 | 48.73 | |||
Total votes | 159,658 | 100.00 | ||||
Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent) | 148,301 | 59.33 | |
Republican | Newton Steers | 101,659 | 40.67 | |
Total votes | 249,960 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent) | 121,761 | 71.34 | |
Republican | Elizabeth W. Spencer | 48,910 | 28.66 | |
Total votes | 170,671 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent) | 181,947 | 71.47 | |
Republican | Albert Ceccone | 70,715 | 27.78 | |
Libertarian | Samuel K. Grove | 1,903 | 0.75 | |
Write-ins | 4 | <0.01 | ||
Total votes | 254,569 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella | 92,917 | 52.87 | |||
Democratic | Stewart Bainum | 82,825 | 47.13 | |||
Total votes | 175,742 | 100.00 | ||||
Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 172,619 | 62.75 | |
Democratic | Peter Franchot | 102,478 | 37.25 | |
Total votes | 275,097 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 130,059 | 73.53 | |
Democratic | James Walker | 39,343 | 22.24 | |
Independent | Sidney Altman | 7,485 | 4.23 | |
Total votes | 176,887 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 203,377 | 72.53 | |
Democratic | Edward J. Heffernan | 77,042 | 27.47 | |
Total votes | 280,419 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 143,449 | 70.28 | |
Democratic | Steven Van Grack | 60,660 | 29.72 | |
Total votes | 204,109 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 152,538 | 61.22 | |
Democratic | Donald Mooers | 96,229 | 38.62 | |
Total votes | 249,146 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 133,145 | 60.34 | |
Democratic | Ralph G. Neas | 87,497 | 39.66 | |
Total votes | 220,642 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 156,241 | 52.00 | |
Democratic | Terry Lierman | 136,840 | 45.54 | |
Constitution | Brian D. Saunders | 7,017 | 2.34 | |
Write-ins | 371 | 0.12 | ||
Total votes | 300,469 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Chris Van Hollen | 112,788 | 51.74 | |||
Republican | Connie Morella (Incumbent) | 103,587 | 47.52 | |||
Write-ins | 1,599 | 0.73 | ||||
Total votes | 217,974 | 100.00 | ||||
Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent) | 215,129 | 74.91 | |
Republican | Chuck Floyd | 71,989 | 25.07 | |
Write-ins | 79 | 0.03 | ||
Total votes | 287,197 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent) | 168,872 | 76.52 | |
Republican | Jeffrey M. Stein | 48,324 | 21.90 | |
Green | Gerard P. Giblin | 3,298 | 1.49 | |
Write-ins | 191 | 0.09 | ||
Total votes | 220,685 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent) | 229,740 | 75.08 | |
Republican | Steve Hudson | 66,351 | 21.68 | |
Green | Gordon Clark | 6,828 | 2.23 | |
Libertarian | Ian Thomas | 2,562 | 0.84 | |
Write-in | All write-ins | 533 | 0.17 | |
Total votes | 306,014 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent) | 153,613 | 73.27 | |
Republican | Michael Lee Philips | 52,421 | 25.00 | |
Libertarian | Mark Grannis | 2,713 | 1.29 | |
Constitution | Fred Nordhorn | 696 | 0.33 | |
No party | Write-ins | 224 | 0.11 | |
Total votes | 209,667 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent) | 217,531 | 63.37 | |
Republican | Kenneth R. Timmerman | 113,033 | 32.93 | |
Libertarian | Mark Grannis | 7,235 | 2.11 | |
Green | George Gluck | 5,064 | 1.48 | |
N/A | Others (write-in) | 393 | 0.11 | |
Total votes | 343,256 | 100 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent) | 136,722 | 60.74 | |
Republican | Dave Wallace | 87,859 | 39.03 | |
N/A | Others (write-in) | 516 | 0.23 | |
Total votes | 225,097 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jamie Raskin | 220,657 | 60.6 | |
Republican | Dan Cox | 124,651 | 34.2 | |
Green | Nancy Wallace | 11,201 | 3.1 | |
Libertarian | Jasen Wunder | 7,283 | 2.0 | |
N/A | Others (write-in) | 532 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 364,324 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jamie Raskin (Incumbent) | 217,679 | 68.2 | |
Republican | John Walsh | 96,525 | 30.2 | |
Libertarian | Jasen Wunder | 4,853 | 1.5 | |
N/A | Write-ins | 273 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 319,330 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Jamie Raskin (incumbent) | 274,716 | 68.2 | |
Republican | Gregory Thomas Coll | 127,157 | 31.6 | |
Write-in | 741 | 0.2 | ||
Total votes | 402,614 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
# | Member | Party | Years | Con- gress |
Electoral history | District location |
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District created in 1793 | ||||||
1 | ![]() William Vans Murray |
Pro-Administration | March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 |
3rd 4th |
Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1792. Re-elected in 1794. Retired. |
1793–1803 [data unknown/missing] |
Federalist | March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797 | |||||
2 | ![]() John Dennis |
Federalist | March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1805 |
5th 6th 7th 8th |
Elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Re-elected in 1801. Re-elected in 1803. Retired. | |
1803–1813 [data unknown/missing] | ||||||
3 | ![]() Charles Goldsborough |
Federalist | March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1817 |
9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th |
Elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Re-elected in 1812. Re-elected in 1814. Retired. | |
1813–1823 [data unknown/missing] | ||||||
4 | Thomas Bayly | Federalist | March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823 |
15th 16th 17th |
Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Re-elected in 1820. Retired. | |
5 | John S. Spence | Democratic-Republican[lower-alpha 1] | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 |
18th | Elected in 1822. Lost re-election. |
1823–1833 [data unknown/missing] |
6 | Robert N. Martin | Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 |
19th | Elected in 1824. Retired. | |
7 | Ephraim King Wilson | Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829 |
20th 21st |
Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1829. Retired. | |
Jackson | March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831 | |||||
8 | John S. Spence | Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 |
22nd | Elected in 1831. [data unknown/missing] | |
9 | John T. Stoddert | Jackson | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835 |
23rd | Elected in 1833. Retired. |
1833–1835 [data unknown/missing] |
Seat abolished in 1835 | ||||||
Seat reinstated in 1967 | ||||||
10 | ![]() Gilbert Gude |
Republican | January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1977 |
90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th |
Elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired. |
1967–1973 Montgomery |
1973–1983 Montgomery | ||||||
11 | ![]() Newton Steers |
Republican | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979 |
95th | Elected in 1976. Lost re-election. | |
12 | ![]() Michael D. Barnes |
Democratic | January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987 |
96th 97th 98th 99th |
Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |
1983–1993 Montgomery | ||||||
13 | ![]() Connie Morella |
Republican | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2003 |
100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th |
Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Lost re-election after redistricting. | |
1993–2003 Montgomery | ||||||
14 | ![]() Chris Van Hollen |
Democratic | January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017 |
108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th |
Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. |
2003–2013![]() Montgomery, Prince George's |
2013–present![]() Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll | ||||||
15 | ![]() Jamie Raskin |
Democratic | January 3, 2017 – present |
115th 116th 117th |
Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. |
Maryland's congressional districts | |
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