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.


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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


Candidates of color to watch

Tonight, we'll be monitoring how candidates of color perform in primaries for governor, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Overall, 47 people of color are running in these contests — 36 Democrats and 11 Republicans. Almost all of the candidates (44) are running in Maryland, which is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states in the country.

The marquee Maryland race involving a candidate of color is, of course, the Democratic primary for Senate. If Alsobrooks makes it through both the primary and general election, she will be only the third Black woman ever elected to the Senate — although she may be tied for that distinction with Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is a strong favorite to win in Delaware.

Down the Maryland ballot, a number of candidates are running in the solidly blue 3rd District. In the Democratic primary, former Capitol Hill police officer Harry Dunn, who is Black, has been a fundraising machine but finds himself in a tight contest in against state Sen. Sarah Elfreth, who is white. State Sen. Clarence Lam, who is of East Asian descent, may have an outside shot of catching Dunn and/or Elfreth, while three other legislators of color — Dels. Mark Chang, Terri Hill and Mike Rogers — look unlikely to break through. On the GOP side, retired Air Force officer Berney Flowers, who is Black, has raised a bit more than his primary opponents, although the Republican nominee will have virtually no chance here.

In the blue-leaning 6th District, state Del. Joe Vogel, a Latino, is locked in a close race with former Commerce Department official April McCalin Delaney. A third contender, Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, who is Black, has raised a sizable amount of campaign cash, too. In the mix in the Republican primary are Air Force veteran Mariela Roca, who is Latina, and former Del. Brenda Thiam, who was the first Black female Republican to ever sit in the Maryland legislature. However, this crowded race could go in a lot of directions.

Elsewhere, in the solidly blue 2nd District, Del. Harry Bhandari, a Nepali immigrant, looks like a significant underdog in the Democratic primary against Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. The GOP favorite in that seat may be Kim Klacik, a Black woman whose failed 2020 campaign in the solidly Democratic 7th District raised millions after Trump retweeted her campaign ad. She has raised far less this time around, and whomever Republicans nominate will be a huge underdog in November.

In the dark-blue 5th District, health care executive Quincy Bareebe, a Ugandan immigrant, has loaned her campaign more than $200,000 in her long-shot primary challenge to longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer. On the Republican side, Charles County GOP chair Michelle Talkington, who is half Black and half white, has no opposition in her primary. Reps. Glenn Ivey and Kweisi Mfume, both Black incumbents, should easily win renomination in their safe blue seats.

Outside Maryland, state Sen. Tony Vargas, who is Latino, is unopposed for the Democratic nomination in Nebraska's highly competitive 2nd District. And in Nebraska's special election for Senate, community advocate Preston Love Jr., who is Black, is also unopposed but will stand little chance in the general election. In West Virginia's dark-red 2nd District, Walker, who is Black, has raised a lot of money in the Republican primary but, as Nathaniel wrote earlier, looks like an underdog against Moore.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538