Maryland, West Virginia and Nebraska primaries 2024: Alsobrooks beats Trone, GOP incumbents survive
538 tracked over 10 competitive primaries for Senate, House and governor.
Tuesday, May 14 was another busy primary day, as voters in three states decided who would be on their general election ballots this fall. In Maryland, Democrats nominated women in two safely Democratic congressional seats, including Angela Alsobrooks, who is poised to become only the third Black woman ever elected to the Senate. In West Virginia and Nebraska, incumbent Republican representatives fended off far-right challengers.
538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.
Latest headlines:
Question: Elfreth beats Dunn in Maryland's 3rd District — Is that a surprise?
Democrats' 22-person race in Maryland's 3rd District came down to two candidates (as expected). With 55 percent of the expected vote reporting, ABC News reports that Elfreth is the projected winner, and she leads Dunn 36 percent to 25 percent.
Question for the group: Is anyone surprised by Elfreth's win? I am a bit surprised, given Dunn's celebrity status.
—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor
How candidates of color are doing tonight
We've been tracking how people of color are performing in primaries throughout this cycle, and there were 47 on the ballot tonight, 44 of whom were running in Maryland. Overall, seven are projected to win, of which Alsobrooks is probably the most notable.
Alsobrooks could make history as the third Black woman to ever win election to the Senate, though she could share that honor with Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is favored to win Delaware's open Senate seat. Elsewhere in Maryland, two Black Democratic incumbents, Ivey and Mfume, also won renomination. Klacik, whom Meredith discussed, won the GOP nomination in Maryland's 2nd District, but will be a huge underdog in November. It's a similar story for Talkington in Maryland's 5th District. In Nebraska, meanwhile, Vargas was unopposed for the Democratic nomination and will face Bacon in the state's purple 2nd District this November. And in one of Nebraska's Senate races, Love Jr. was unopposed and will very likely lose against Ricketts in the solidly red state. Beyond those individuals, it's unlikely that any other candidates on the list will win a primary tonight.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
Alsobrooks supporters and surrogates celebrate her victory
At Angela Alsobrooks's HQ in Greenbelt, excitement is getting more and more tangible — with results of her victory now called, the crowd is listening to some of her high-profile supporters in anticipation of her own appearance on stage.
Alsobrooks — who had a significant funding disadvantage compared to her much wealthier opponent — seems to have captured the majority of primary votes based on her slate of important endorsements from people, including Gov. Wes Moore and Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jamie Raskin.
"What do they say? Money can't buy you love," Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said at Alsobrooks's election night party on Tuesday.
"I am so very proud of Angela Alsobrooks," Hoyer echoed, saying "both" Trone and Alsobrooks would have beaten Larry Hogan in a general election, but "Angela was the strongest candidate."
—Isabella Murray, ABC News
Projected winners in Maryland's 6th District
ABC News reports that April McClain Delaney is projected to win the Democratic primary in Maryland's 6th District, and that Neil Parrott is projected to win the Republican primary there. Both currently hold double-digit victories over their closest opponents, with over 55 percent of the expected vote reporting in each race. Delaney will start out as the favorite in the general election, but this is a district that could conceivably become competitive in a bad year for Democrats.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections