Maryland's 8th congressional district

Maryland's 8th congressional district since January 3, 2013

Representative

Jamie Raskin
D–Takoma Park

Area

297.06 sq mi (769.4 km²)

Distribution

88.08% urban
11.92% rural

Population (2019)

776,393

Median household
income

$109,016^[1]

Ethnicity

61.2% White
14.2% Hispanic
12.1% Black
9.3% Asian
2.6% Two or more races
0.5% other

Cook PVI

D+17^[2]

Maryland's 8th congressional district stretches from the northern Washington, D.C. suburbs north to the Pennsylvania border. The district is currently represented by Democrat Jamie Raskin.

History

The district was created after the 1790 census in time for the 1792 election, was abolished after the 1830 census, and was reinstated after the 1960 census.

During redistricting after the 2000 census, the Democratic-dominated Maryland legislature sought to unseat then-incumbent Republican Connie Morella^{[citation needed]}. One proposal went so far as to divide the district in two, effectively giving one to state Senator Christopher Van Hollen, Jr. and forcing then-incumbent Connie Morella to run against popular Maryland State Delegate and Kennedy political family member Mark Kennedy Shriver^{[citation needed]}. The final redistricting plan was less ambitious, restoring an eastern, heavily Democratic spur of Montgomery County removed in the 1990 redistricting to the 8th District^{[citation needed]}, as well as adding an adjacent portion from heavily Democratic Prince George's County located in Maryland's 5th congressional district. Although it forced Van Hollen and Shriver to run against each other in an expensive primary, the shift still made the district even more Democratic than its predecessor, and Van Hollen defeated Morella in 2002.

From 2003 to 2013 the district mostly consisted of the larger part of Montgomery County, also including a small portion of Prince George's County. The district now includes most of Frederick County (but not the City of Frederick), southern Carroll County, and a swath of Montgomery County that narrows in the north and then widens in the south to encompass nearly all of the area "inside the beltway." The redrawn district is slightly less Democratic than its predecessor. While the Carroll and Frederick portions of the districts tilt strongly Republican, the Montgomery County portion has twice as many people as the rest of the district combined, and Montgomery's Democratic tilt is enough to keep the district in the Democratic column. Since Morella left office, no Republican has crossed the 40 percent mark.

When Van Hollen left his seat in a successful bid to succeed Barbara Mikulski in the U.S. Senate, Jamie Raskin won the Democratic primary, all but assuring he would take over the seat in the general election. The primary campaign was the most expensive House race in 2016, due primarily to the large amounts spent by wealthy businessman and runner-up David Trone.^[3]

Recent elections

1960s

Maryland's 8th congressional district election (new district), 1966^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gilbert Gude	71,050	54.40
	Democratic	Royce Hanson	59,568	45.60
Total votes			130,618	100.00

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1968^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gilbert Gude (Incumbent)	109,167	60.89
	Democratic	Margaret C. Schweinhaut	70,109	39.11
Total votes			179,276	100.00
	Republican hold

1970s

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1970^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gilbert Gude (Incumbent)	104,647	63.38
	Democratic	Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr.	60,456	36.62
Total votes			165,103	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1972^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gilbert Gude (Incumbent)	137,287	63.90
	Democratic	Joseph G. Anastasi	77,551	36.10
Total votes			214,838	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1974^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gilbert Gude (Incumbent)	104,675	65.92
	Democratic	Sidney Kramer	54,112	34.08
Total votes			158,787	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1976^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Newton Steers	111,274	46.82
	Democratic	Lanny Davis	100,343	42.22
	Independent	Robin Ficker	26,035	10.96
Total votes			237,652	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1978^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Barnes	81,851	51.27
	Republican	Newton Steers (Incumbent)	77,807	48.73
Total votes			159,658	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

1980s

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1980^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent)	148,301	59.33
	Republican	Newton Steers	101,659	40.67
Total votes			249,960	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1982^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent)	121,761	71.34
	Republican	Elizabeth W. Spencer	48,910	28.66
Total votes			170,671	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1984^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael D. Barnes (Incumbent)	181,947	71.47
	Republican	Albert Ceccone	70,715	27.78
	Libertarian	Samuel K. Grove	1,903	0.75
	Write-ins		4	<0.01
Total votes			254,569	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1986^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella	92,917	52.87
	Democratic	Stewart Bainum	82,825	47.13
Total votes			175,742	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1988^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	172,619	62.75
	Democratic	Peter Franchot	102,478	37.25
Total votes			275,097	100.00
	Republican hold

1990s

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1990^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	130,059	73.53
	Democratic	James Walker	39,343	22.24
	Independent	Sidney Altman	7,485	4.23
Total votes			176,887	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1992^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	203,377	72.53
	Democratic	Edward J. Heffernan	77,042	27.47
Total votes			280,419	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1994^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	143,449	70.28
	Democratic	Steven Van Grack	60,660	29.72
Total votes			204,109	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1996^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	152,538	61.22
	Democratic	Donald Mooers	96,229	38.62
Total votes			249,146	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 1998^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	133,145	60.34
	Democratic	Ralph G. Neas	87,497	39.66
Total votes			220,642	100.00
	Republican hold

2000s

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2000^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	156,241	52.00
	Democratic	Terry Lierman	136,840	45.54
	Constitution	Brian D. Saunders	7,017	2.34
	Write-ins		371	0.12
Total votes			300,469	100.00
	Republican hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2002^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen	112,788	51.74
	Republican	Connie Morella (Incumbent)	103,587	47.52
	Write-ins		1,599	0.73
Total votes			217,974	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2004^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent)	215,129	74.91
	Republican	Chuck Floyd	71,989	25.07
	Write-ins		79	0.03
Total votes			287,197	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2006^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent)	168,872	76.52
	Republican	Jeffrey M. Stein	48,324	21.90
	Green	Gerard P. Giblin	3,298	1.49
	Write-ins		191	0.09
Total votes			220,685	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2008^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent)	229,740	75.08
	Republican	Steve Hudson	66,351	21.68
	Green	Gordon Clark	6,828	2.23
	Libertarian	Ian Thomas	2,562	0.84
	Write-in	All write-ins	533	0.17
Total votes			306,014	100.00
	Democratic hold

2010s

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2010^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent)	153,613	73.27
	Republican	Michael Lee Philips	52,421	25.00
	Libertarian	Mark Grannis	2,713	1.29
	Constitution	Fred Nordhorn	696	0.33
	No party	Write-ins	224	0.11
Total votes			209,667	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2012^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent)	217,531	63.37
	Republican	Kenneth R. Timmerman	113,033	32.93
	Libertarian	Mark Grannis	7,235	2.11
	Green	George Gluck	5,064	1.48
	N/A	Others (write-in)	393	0.11
Total votes			343,256	100
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2014^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chris Van Hollen (Incumbent)	136,722	60.74
	Republican	Dave Wallace	87,859	39.03
	N/A	Others (write-in)	516	0.23
Total votes			225,097	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district election, 2016^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jamie Raskin	220,657	60.6
	Republican	Dan Cox	124,651	34.2
	Green	Nancy Wallace	11,201	3.1
	Libertarian	Jasen Wunder	7,283	2.0
	N/A	Others (write-in)	532	0.1
Total votes			364,324	100.00
	Democratic hold

Maryland's 8th congressional district, 2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jamie Raskin (Incumbent)	217,679	68.2
	Republican	John Walsh	96,525	30.2
	Libertarian	Jasen Wunder	4,853	1.5
	n/a	Write-ins	273	0.1
Total votes			319,330	100.0
	Democratic hold

2020s

Maryland's 8th congressional district, 2020^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jamie Raskin (incumbent)	274,716	68.2
	Republican	Gregory Thomas Coll	127,157	31.6
	Write-in		741	0.2
Total votes			402,614	100.0
	Democratic hold

List of members representing the district

#	Member	Party	Years	Con- gress	Electoral history	District location
District created in 1793
1	William Vans Murray	Pro-Administration	March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795	3rd 4th	Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1792. Re-elected in 1794. Retired.	1793–1803 [data unknown/missing]
1	William Vans Murray	Federalist	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797	3rd 4th
2	John Dennis	Federalist	March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1805	5th 6th 7th 8th	Elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Re-elected in 1801. Re-elected in 1803. Retired.
2	John Dennis	Federalist	March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1805	5th 6th 7th 8th		1803–1813 [data unknown/missing]
3	Charles Goldsborough	Federalist	March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1817	9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th	Elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Re-elected in 1812. Re-elected in 1814. Retired.	1803–1813 [data unknown/missing]
3	Charles Goldsborough	Federalist	March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1817	9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th		1813–1823 [data unknown/missing]
4	Thomas Bayly	Federalist	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823	15th 16th 17th	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Re-elected in 1820. Retired.	1813–1823 [data unknown/missing]
5	John S. Spence	Democratic-Republican^[a]	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th	Elected in 1822. Lost re-election.	1823–1833 [data unknown/missing]
6	Robert N. Martin	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827	19th	Elected in 1824. Retired.
7	Ephraim King Wilson	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829	20th 21st	Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1829. Retired.
7	Ephraim King Wilson	Jackson	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831	20th 21st	Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1829. Retired.
8	John S. Spence	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833	22nd	Elected in 1831. [data unknown/missing]
9	John T. Stoddert	Jackson	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835	23rd	Elected in 1833. Retired.	1833–1835 [data unknown/missing]
Seat abolished in 1835
Seat reinstated in 1967
10	Gilbert Gude	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1977	90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th	Elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired.	1967–1973 Montgomery
10	Gilbert Gude	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1977	90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th		1973–1983 Montgomery
11	Newton Steers	Republican	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979	95th	Elected in 1976. Lost re-election.
12	Michael D. Barnes	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987	96th 97th 98th 99th	Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
12	Michael D. Barnes	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987	96th 97th 98th 99th		1983–1993 Montgomery
13	Connie Morella	Republican	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2003	100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th	Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Lost re-election after redistricting.	1983–1993 Montgomery
13	Connie Morella	Republican	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2003	100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th		1993–2003 Montgomery
14	Chris Van Hollen	Democratic	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017	108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th	Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.	2003–2013 Montgomery, Prince George's
14	Chris Van Hollen	Democratic	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017	108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th		2013–present Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll
15	Jamie Raskin	Democratic	January 3, 2017 – present	115th 116th 117th	Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020.	2013–present Montgomery, Frederick, Carroll

Notes

^ Supported the Adams-Clay faction in the 1824 United States presidential election

External links

Sources

^ "My Congressional District".
^ "Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index". The Cook Political Report. April 15, 2021.
^ Turque, Bill (April 27, 2016). "Raskin wins Md.'s 8th Congressional District primary". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (March 31, 1967). "Statistics of the Contressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (July 1, 1969). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 1, 1971). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (March 15, 1973). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (August 1, 1975). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1974" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 15, 1977). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 1, 1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 15, 1981). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 5, 1983). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1982" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 1, 1985). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1984" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 29, 1987). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1986" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 20, 1989). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 29, 1991). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 31, 1993). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1992" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 12, 1995). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (July 29, 1997). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (January 3, 1999). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 21, 2001). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 1, 2003). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 7, 2005). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (September 21, 2007). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (July 10, 2009). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (February 28, 2013). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 2, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 9, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 14, 2020.

Archives of Maryland Historical List United States Representatives Maryland State Archives
Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

v t e Maryland's congressional districts
All districts At-large 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th The at-large seat is obsolete. See also Maryland's past and present representatives, senators, and delegations Recent U.S. House elections in Maryland: 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 All U.S. districts Apportionment Redistricting Gerrymandering

This page was last edited on 29 August 2021, at 23:25