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:
Maryland race has its GOP Senate nominee, but Democratic race is close
ABC News reports that former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is projected to win the Maryland Republican Senate primary. He leads Ficker 68 percent to 24 percent with 28 percent of the expected vote reporting. The popular former governor can now look ahead to a difficult campaign to win in his blue state, but one that has put the race on the map.
And with 25 percent of the expected vote reporting in the Democratic primary, Alsobrooks holds a slim lead over Trone, 49 percent to 48 percent. It's early to make much of the county-level patterns here, but it may be a good sign for Alsobrooks that she's down only 53 percent to 43 percent in Montgomery County, which is Trone's home county and where part of his congressional district sits. Meanwhile, she's taking care of business at home, as Alsobrooks leads 69 percent to 29 percent in Prince George's County.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
'Johnny O' gets a projected W in Maryland's 2nd District's Democratic primary
ABC News reports John Olszewski, Jr., the county executive for Baltimore County, also known as "Johnny O," is projected to win the Democratic primary for Maryland's 2nd Congressional District. He will face Republican nominee Kimberly Klacik, a commentator and former nominee for Maryland's 7th Congressional District, in November.
—G. Elliott Morris, 538
Get ready for Senator Babydog
With Justice very likely to get elected to the Senate in the fall, the nation is about to meet Babydog, his bulldog who has become a folk icon in West Virginia during his governorship.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Initial results in Maryland's 3rd District
With 27 percent of the expected vote reporting in the Democratic primary for Maryland's 3rd District, Elfreth leads Dunn 37 percent to 28 percent. Meanwhile, Lam has 10 percent. Morse, the Sanders-endorsed candidate I just mentioned, is much further back with just 1 percent.
—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor
Answer: I'm not sure either is more electable
Given the history of former governors running for Senate in states that generally vote for the opposite party, I'm not sure it will matter much if Trone or Alsobrooks make the ballot. Consider Phil Bredesen in 2018, a popular former Democratic governor in Tennessee who lost an open seat in the state to Marsha Blackburn by around 11 points, even in a blue wave year. Or Evan Bayh, who sought a return to the Senate in Indiana in 2016, only to lose by 10 points to Todd Young. The list continues ... Ted Strickland in Ohio in 2016, Linda Lingle in Hawaii in 2012 ... I just don't think that a former governor, even a popular one, can really overcome the partisanship of a state when it comes to the Senate.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538