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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Coal country was weak for Biden, though

West Virginia actually has a history of casting protest votes against incumbent Democratic presidents in primaries, Irena. For instance, in 2012, Barack Obama beat total rando Keith Judd here just 59 percent to 41 percent. This year, Biden is winning a decent 71 percent of the vote, but he's especially weak in coal country in the southwestern part of the state — for example, winning just 49 percent in Mingo County. But these are no anti-Israel protest votes; coal country is a deeply conservative part of the country that nonetheless still has a lot of registered Democrats. These protest votes, therefore, are protesting the liberal direction that the national party has taken this century.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538


Jason Palmer is so back

The only presidential primary-related news you should pay attention to tonight is that Jason Palmer, the Democratic winner in American Samoa on Super Tuesday, is on the ballot again today in West Virginia! With 69 percent of the expected vote in, ABC News has projected that Biden will win the Mountain State's Democratic primary, but Palmer is sitting in second place with 12 percent of the vote.

—Irena Li, 538


Checking in on anti-abortion candidates

With Morrissey's projected win in the Republican gubernatorial primary, the GOP in West Virginia is nominating a slate of anti-abortion candidates. In Maryland's 6th, Parrott's projected win for the Republican nomination means that abortion could be a big issue in the competitive district in November. Maryland voters, like voters nationwide, are supportive of abortion rights, and this fall they'll decide on an amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The projected Democratic primary winner, McClain Delaney, has championed abortion rights in her campaign. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Parrott said abortion should be left to the states.

—Monica Potts, 538


Answer: I'm not surprised by Elfreth winning

Dunn's fundraising and national profile always made him look like the frontrunner in Maryland's 3rd, but Elfreth ran strong from the beginning, and the scant polling of the race we had showed her even with Dunn or ahead of him, before, during and after the UDP spending push (which, as Geoff noted, allowed the pro-Elfreth voice to be louder on TV than the pro-Dunn voice). And Elfreth's team was confident heading into today. I spoke with one of her allies this morning who was blunt in their assessment of the state of the race: "Elfreth will win it. She had TV plus organizing." Sometimes, it's that simple!

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


Democratic women we're watching

According to the Center for American Women in Politics, in states where filing deadlines have passed as of April 26, 36 percent of Democratic candidates for House races and 32 percent for Senate races are women. Today in Maryland, the share is a little lower: 32 percent of Democrats running for House and two out of 10 Senate candidates are women.

That said, women are competitive in a couple of Maryland's most critical primaries — which happen to be pretty crowded. A slew of Democratic departures — in the 2nd, 3rd and 6th Congressional Districts, as well as the Senate — have contributed to a wave of hopeful nominees, including Elfreth in the 3rd District and Alsobrooks for Senate. EMILY's List, the Democratic powerhouse that supports women at the crucial primary stage, has put its muscle behind Alsobrooks with a $2 million ad buy. But, despite typically investing in pro-choice women running in competitive districts, the group hasn't made an endorsement in Elfreth's race.

Meanwhile, in West Virginia, there are no Democratic women on the ballot today, while in Nebraska, there is just one running: state Sen. Carol Blood is running unopposed in the 1st District. If the incumbent Republican, Rep. Mike Flood, wins his primary, it will be Blood versus Flood, a most ominous general election match-up. But she will likely lose this, ahem, blood-red district in November.

—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor