From Frederick to the Eastern Shore, blue wave expands Democrats’ reach

The Democratic blue wave that crashed across the nation washed ashore in Maryland, too, with the party expanding its reach and flipping seats from Frederick to Salisbury.

Democrats already had a stranglehold on Maryland’s statewide elections and the General Assembly, relying on power bases in Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Howard and Anne Arundel counties have been shifting from purple to blue.

Sensing an opportunity this year, the party ran candidates in places they don’t always compete, and Tuesday’s election results showed them also turning bluer.

“Red to blue really works,” said Steuart Pittman, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party and outgoing county executive in Anne Arundel County.

In the Eastern Shore’s Wicomico County, Democrats flipped the majority of the county council and the school board, the county executive’s seat and a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Democrats also picked up a seat in the House of Delegates in a purple section of Anne Arundel County.

A Democratic candidate declared victory for a Howard County Council seat in the western part of the county, typically a GOP stronghold.

In Frederick County, MAGA Sheriff Chuck Jenkins was toppled by a Democrat who barely campaigned, Democratic County Executive Jessica Fitzwater fended off a challenge and Democratic candidates in a rural House of Delegates district are barely trailing the Republican incumbents as votes continue to be counted.

Del. Kris Fair, a Democrat who won reelection in a district centered on Frederick City, said one year ago it would have been “inconceivable” that the Democrats would be close in the House district that encompasses the rest of the county.

Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, declared the election to be a “a really good night” for his party both nationally and locally.

“This was not just about engaging the base, it was about enlarging it. It was about going everywhere,” Moore told reporters Wednesday morning.

Moore made campaign stops across the state and sent money to down-ballot candidates. He hopes a more robust Democratic Party is part of his legacy.

“The days of governors’ legacies ending when they leave office — those days in Maryland, they’re gone,” Moore said, possibly a veiled swipe at former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, whose party has withered since he left office in 2023.

Democratic leaders and organizers said their success was no accident, and actually was years in the making.

The Maryland Democratic Party made a concerted effort to field candidates for every seat in the General Assembly and as many local races as possible. A coordinated campaign helped candidates across the state. And Moore turned on his star power and opened his checkbook for down-ballot candidates.

“People wanted change so badly that they did the work,” Pittman said.

Mileah Kromer, director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Institute of Politics, said that while Maryland Democrats did benefit from the national blue wave that energized their base, they also had strong candidates who put in the work. Those candidates won over independent voters, especially in red-leaning rural areas.

“It’s important to recognize the work that some of these individual candidates and groups have done,” Kromer said. “The local matters, too. Candidate quality and building a network matters, too.”

Republicans, meanwhile, had little inspiration to vote with unpopular President Donald Trump as their party’s leader and poorly-funded Dan Cox as their gubernatorial candidate.

Jared Schablein founded a group now known as Shore Progress in 2017 to promote progressive politics. Work over the years from him and other Democratic activists finally paid off with wins this week.

“This has been 10 years of hard work,” said Schablein, who managed the successful House of Delegates campaign of Josh Hastings, defeating incumbent Republican Del. Barry Beauchamp.

Some may view the Shore — home of U.S. Rep. Andy Harris — as solidly Republican territory. But Schablein said residents are concerned about lack of well-paying jobs, funding for schools and access to health care, and they aren’t seeing results from Republican elected officials.

“It felt good that we are able to finally make the change and start getting serious about these issues,” he said.

Megan Outten, who won a seat on the Wicomico County Council, said Democratic candidates ran grassroots campaigns and focused on face-to-face meetings with voters, regardless of their party affiliation.

“I believe if you’re running to represent people in your community, you have to meet them where they are,” she said.

Wicomico County in particular has seen infighting between members of the county council and County Executive Julie Giordano, a Republican who lost her reelection bid to Democrat Ernest Davis. Residents are sick of it, said Erin Patterson, a Democrat who won a seat on the council.

The seven-member Wicomico County Council will flip from Republican majority to Democratic majority.

“There are a lot of people who are getting tired of the division,” Patterson said.

Patterson had a clue that things might swing Democrats’ way in the election: Fewer homes and cars sporting Trump’s “Make America Great Again” flags.

“They have slowly and quietly disappeared,” she said. “That was the biggest indicator that people are unhappy.”

Banner reporter Justin Fenton contributed to this article.