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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More family connections in West Virginia

The family ties in West Virginia elections tonight don’t stop at the Capitos and Millers. According to the AP, Kris Warner has won the Republican primary for secretary of state there — a job currently held by his brother Mac.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538


Maryland's 6th is Delaney Country

In Maryland's 6th District, Democrat April McClain Delaney looks to be in a strong position in her primary. With just over a quarter of the expected vote reporting, she leads state Del. Joe Vogel 40 to 26 percent. Her husband, John Delaney, held this seat from 2012 to 2018. On the GOP side, former state Del. Neil Parrott is cruising to a likely third consecutive GOP nomination with 50 percent of the vote, outpacing 2022 gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox, with 55 percent of the expected vote reporting.

Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


Answer: Electability, shmectability

Echoing what everyone else has said about Alsobrooks, I also would question the utility of being seen as "electable" in the first place. Plenty have written over the years about how the term can carry with it racial or gender-based undertones — the electability conversation loomed large leading up to the 2020 election, when a number of women were vying to be the Democratic nominee. But nationwide considerations about electability are one thing; I'm doubtful it'll matter at all in deep-blue Maryland.

—Irena Li, 538


Answer: There's probably not much difference between Trone and Alsobrooks

I don't think there would be much of a difference between Trone and Alsobrooks when it comes to their chances of winning the 2024 general election against Hogan. Yes, Trone performed somewhat better than Alsobrooks did in some early general election polls against Hogan. However, Alsobrooks wasn't as well-known as Hogan or Trone early on, given that Hogan is a popular former governor and Trone had been running ads since last May. Trone tried to use those polls to make the case that he was more "electable," but it's looking increasingly likely that his argument didn't work.

All in all, my guess is if you simulated this election 10,000 times with Alsobrooks and 10,000 times with Trone, the probability of a Democratic victory would be similarly high in either. That's not to say Hogan can't claim victory in November, but we're talking about deep-blue Maryland — it's going to be very hard for him to actually win.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


That's a wrap!

This week's primaries are ovah, so we're calling it a night! Here are the most important races where ABC News has reported a projection:

- Maryland's Senate matchup is set. In the GOP primary, former Gov. Larry Hogan easily dispatched his primary opposition, giving Republicans their best possible nominee for what will still be a very tough general election in deep-blue Maryland. In the Democratic primary, meanwhile, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks edged out Rep. David Trone in an expensive, hard-fought race. She now has the chance to become just the third Black woman elected to the Senate in U.S. history.

- In Maryland's 3rd District, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth won the very crowded Democratic primary, defeating Harry Dunn, the former Capitol Hill police officer who helped defend the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Given the district's blue lean, Elfreth should win in November, adding more women to the House, where women are still just 29 percent of its members.

- Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the Republican primary for West Virginia governor in a close race over former state Del. Moore Capito. He's heavily favored to win in November in this red state and will likely be a hardline conservative governor, as he's associated with the tea party wing of the party.

- In the GOP primary for West Virginia senator, Gov. Jim Justice easily defeated Rep. Alex Mooney, carrying all but four counties in exurban Washington, D.C. Justice will be heavily favored to win the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who announced his retirement last year.

- In the Republican primary for West Virginia's 1st District, incumbent Rep. Carol Miller fended off a far-right challenge from former state Sen. Derrick Evans, who'd previously served three months in jail after being found guilty in a case related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. She'll be favored to comfortably hold on to her seat in November.

- In the Republican primary for West Virginia's 2nd District, state Treasurer Riley Moore romped to victory over several other GOP candidates vying to succeed Mooney (who ran for Senate). Moore is the nephew of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and the grandson of former Gov. Arch Moore; he'll be a shoo-in this fall for the deeply Republican seat.

- In Maryland's 6th District, which was vacated by Trone for his ill-fated Senate bid, Democrats went with a familiar name in their primary: April McClain Delaney, a former Biden administration official whose husband, John Delaney, held this seat for six years before Trone. On the Republican side, voters once again expressed their support for Neil Parrott, a local lawmaker who was the GOP nominee in 2020 and 2022. Delaney will be favored in the general election, but this is a seat that could get competitive under the right circumstances for Republicans.

- In Maryland's 2nd District, Democratic voters nominated Baltimore County Executive John "Johnny O" Olszewski Jr. to face off against Republican political commentator and frequent political candidate Kimberly Klacik. Biden won general election voters in this district 59 to 39 percent in 2020, so it's highly likely Johnny O will be the next representative of this northern-Baltimore seat.

- In Nebraska's 2nd District, Rep. Don Bacon easily turned back a primary challenge from right-wing Republican Dan Frei. That's bad news for Democrats, who would've had a much easier time beating Frei than Bacon in November in this swing seat.

—G. Elliott Morris, Monica Potts, Nathaniel Rakich and Geoffrey Skelley, 538; Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor; and Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections