Del. Adrian Boafo wins Democratic nomination to succeed Steny Hoyer

State Del. Adrian Boafo emerged Tuesday from a field of 23 candidates to secure the Democratic nomination to represent Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

In a district where Democrats generally outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1 at the polls, Boafo has likely solidified himself as the successor to U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, 87, who in January announced he would retire at the end of his term after nearly 45 years in Congress.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:28 p.m.

The district includes parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties and all of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, and is home to the state’s largest population of federal employees.

Boafo has represented Prince George’s County in the House of Delegates since 2023. He was previously a federal lobbyist for the technology company Oracle, a local official in Bowie and worked for former U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen of Nevada.

He also once worked as Hoyer’s campaign manager. When the longtime congressman announced his retirement, he endorsed Boafo to succeed him. Boafo also landed support from U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Gov. Wes Moore.

Candidates consistently cited protecting federal workers as one of their priorities.

Many of Hoyer’s would-be successors deployed large sums of money.

Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who two years ago ran for the 3rd Congressional District and lost, led the way with more than $4 million in contributions to his campaign.

Business executive Quincy Bareebe emerged with the largest war chest after contributing $5.7 million of her own money.

Outside spending emerged as a point of contention in the race. Several candidates and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who didn’t endorse in the 5th District, said they were alarmed that PACs aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and with the cryptocurrency industry had spent millions to boost Boafo’s campaign.

The Democratic primary also featured former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, County Council member Wala Blegay, state Sen. Arthur Ellis, fired federal workers and a volunteer firefighter who appeared on “Jeopardy!” among many others.

Banner reporters Brenda Wintrode and John-John Williams IV contributed to this report.