The 2018 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018. The date included the election of the governor, lieutenant governor, and all members of the Maryland General Assembly. Incumbent governor Larry Hogan and Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford, both Republicans, were re-elected to a second term against Democrat Ben Jealous, the former NAACP CEO, and his running mate Susan Turnbull. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state carried by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Hogan became the second Republican governor of Maryland to win re-election, and the first since 1954. This was the first Maryland gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates received over one million votes.
This is the last time that a Republican won a statewide election in Maryland.
Background
At the presidential level, Maryland is a staunchly Democratic state due to the large amount of Democratic voters in the Washington metropolitan area and Baltimore City. Maryland has not seen a Republican presidential candidate win its votes since 1988, and the state has not been within 15% since 2004; Hillary Clinton won the state by 26 points over Donald Trump (60% to 34%) in 2016, Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 26 points in 2012 (62% to 36%), and Obama defeated John McCain by 25 points in 2008 (62% to 37%).
Hogan was elected governor in 2014, defeating then-lieutenant governor Anthony Brown by a margin of 51–47; the result was considered one of the biggest election upsets that year. Prior to Hogan's victory, Bob Ehrlich, elected in 2002, had been the only Republican elected as Governor of Maryland since Spiro Agnew. However, Ehrlich was defeated for reelection in 2006 by Martin O'Malley and defeated again in 2010, when he faced O'Malley in a rematch.
In April 2018, Hogan had a 68% approval rating, the second-highest approval of any governor in the country, only behind Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, who had a 71% approval rating. Despite the state's Democratic leaning, Hogan had a high approval rating among all partisan groups (65% approval from Democrats, 64% of Independents, and 81% of Republicans).
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominated
Larry Hogan, incumbent governor
Declined
Barry Glassman, Harford County Executive
John Grasso, Anne Arundel County Councilman
Endorsements
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominated
Ben Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP
Running mate: Susie Turnbull, former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party and former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee
Eliminated in primary
Rushern Baker, Prince George's County executive
Running mate: Elizabeth Embry, former Maryland Attorney General Crime Division Chief and candidate for Mayor of Baltimore in 2016
Ralph Jaffe, perennial candidate
Running mate: Freda Jaffe, sister of Ralph Jaffe
James Jones II
Running mate: Charles Waters
Richard Madaleno, State Senator
Running mate: Luwanda Jenkins, businesswoman and former Maryland Special Secretary for Minority Affairs
Alec Ross, author and former State Department official
Running mate: Julie Verratti, co-founder of Denziens Brewing Co, former senior advisor at the Small Business Administration, and LGBT political activist.
Jim Shea, attorney
Running mate: Brandon Scott, Baltimore City Councilmember
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, former policy director to former First Lady Michelle Obama and former State Department official
Running mate: Sharon Blake, former president of the Baltimore Teachers Union
Deceased
Kevin Kamenetz, Baltimore County Executive (deceased May 10, 2018)
Running mate: Valerie Ervin, senior advisor to the Working Families Party and former Montgomery County Councilmember
(Because of Kamenetz' death, Valerie Ervin became a candidate for governor. See under "Withdrew" heading for more information.)
Withdrew
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, policy consultant and wife of U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings
Valerie Ervin, former senior advisor to the Working Families Party and former Montgomery County Councilmember
Running mate: Marisol Johnson, former vice chair of the Baltimore County Board of Education and small businesswoman
(Valerie Ervin, who had been the running mate of Kevin Kamenetz before he died on May 10, became a candidate for governor with Marisol Johnson as running mate on May 17. This came too late to change the primary ballot, so notices were posted at polling places informing voters that votes for Kamenetz and Ervin would be counted as votes for Ervin and Johnson. On June 12, Ervin withdrew from the race.)
Declined
John Delaney, U.S. Representative (ran for President in 2020,)
Peter Franchot, State Comptroller
Brian Frosh, Attorney General
Doug Gansler, former attorney general and candidate for governor in 2014
Ike Leggett, Montgomery County executive
Maggie McIntosh, state delegate
Thomas Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, former United States Secretary of Labor, and former Maryland Secretary of Labor
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former mayor of Baltimore
David Trone, businessman and candidate for MD-08 in 2016 (running for MD-06)
Heather Mizeur, former state delegate and candidate for governor in 2014
Joseline Peña-Melnyk, state delegate and candidate for MD-04 in 2016
Kenneth Ulman, former Howard County executive and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Green nomination
Candidates
Declared
Ian Schlakman, entrepreneur and former co-chair of the Maryland Green Party
Running mate: Annie Chambers, reverend and Baltimore City Resident Advisory Board Member
Results
Following the Maryland Green Party's nominating procedure, the delegates of the Coordinating Council, which is the party's State Central Committee, made the decision to nominate the gubernatorial ticket as no other candidate had filed by the party's March 30, 2018, deadline. More than one ticket seeking the nomination would have required the party to conduct a primary, an obligation not mandated by the State Board of Elections for non-principal parties.
Libertarian convention
Candidates
Declared
Shawn Quinn, nominee for governor in 2014 and nominee for the House of Delegates in 2010
Running mate: Christina Smith
General election
Debates
Larry Hogan and Ben Jealous met for their one and only scheduled debate on September 24. The debate was livestreamed in the evening by the Maryland Public Television.
Predictions
Polling
Results
Results by congressional district
Hogan carried 6 of 8 congressional districts, including 5 held by Democrats. This included the district of then-House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, which Hogan lost to Hoyer in 1992.