Maryland's 2nd Congressional District

Maryland's 2nd Congressional District

Incumbent

John Olszewski Jr.

Assumed office: January 3, 2025

Maryland's 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by John Olszewski Jr. (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Maryland representatives represented an average of 773,160 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 723,741 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (May 14 Democratic primary)

Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (May 14 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 2

John Olszewski Jr. defeated Kim Klacik and Jasen Wunder in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Olszewski Jr. (D)	58.2	223,797
		Kim Klacik (R)	39.5	152,079
		Jasen Wunder (L)	2.1	8,169
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	749

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 384,794
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Olszewski Jr.	78.7	65,995
		Harry Bhandari	8.5	7,150
		Sia Kyriakakos	4.9	4,080
		Sharron Reed-Burns	4.1	3,472
		Jessica Sjoberg	2.0	1,692
		Clint Spellman Jr.	1.7	1,466

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 83,855
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dutch Ruppersberger (D)
• Bryan Moore (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Kim Klacik defeated Dave Wallace and John Thormann in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on May 14, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Klacik	63.1	25,377
		Dave Wallace	23.5	9,433
		John Thormann	13.5	5,414

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 40,224
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger defeated Nicolee Ambrose in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dutch Ruppersberger (D)	59.2	158,998
		Nicolee Ambrose (R)	40.6	109,075
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	361

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 268,434
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger defeated George Croom, Marques Dent, and Liri Fusha in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on July 19, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dutch Ruppersberger	75.5	62,896
		George Croom	10.2	8,465
		Marques Dent	9.3	7,728
	Submit photo	Liri Fusha	5.1	4,218

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 83,307
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brittany Oliver (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on July 19, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nicolee Ambrose	32.3	12,201
		Dave Wallace	20.2	7,643
		Michael Geppi	14.8	5,595
		Bernard Flowers	13.2	4,983
		Ellen McNulty	11.1	4,204
		Lance Griffin	8.4	3,192

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,818
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger defeated Johnny Ray Salling in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dutch Ruppersberger (D)	67.7	224,836
		Johnny Ray Salling (R)	32.0	106,355
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	835

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 332,026
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeff Northcott (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger defeated Michael Feldman and Jake Pretot in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dutch Ruppersberger	73.3	82,167
	Submit photo	Michael Feldman	18.0	20,222
		Jake Pretot	8.7	9,780

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 112,169
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Johnny Ray Salling	19.1	5,942
		Genevieve Morris	16.5	5,134
		Tim Fazenbaker	16.4	5,123
		Rick Impallaria	16.2	5,061
		Jim Simpson	15.3	4,764
		Scott Collier	11.4	3,564
		Blaine Taylor	5.0	1,562

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,150
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Carl Magee Jr. (R)

2018

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger defeated Elizabeth Matory, Michael Carney, and Guy Mimoun in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dutch Ruppersberger (D)	66.0	167,201
		Elizabeth Matory (R)	30.7	77,782
		Michael Carney (L)	2.1	5,215
	Submit photo	Guy Mimoun (G)	1.1	2,904
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	200

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 253,302 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger defeated Jake Pretot in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dutch Ruppersberger	78.1	47,776
		Jake Pretot	21.9	13,405

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 61,181
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2

Elizabeth Matory defeated Mark Shell, Mitchell Toland Jr., and Hubert Owens Jr. in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 2 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Elizabeth Matory	42.0	7,426
		Mark Shell	23.6	4,171
	Submit photo	Mitchell Toland Jr.	17.3	3,061
	Submit photo	Hubert Owens Jr.	17.1	3,017

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 17,675
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2016

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger (D) defeated Pat McDonough (R) and Kristin Kasprzak (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Ruppersberger was unchallenged in the Democratic primary, while McDonough defeated Bill Heine, Carl H. Magee, Jr., Yuripzy Morgan, and Mark Shell to win the Republican nomination. The primary elections took place on April 26, 2016.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger Incumbent	62.1%	192,183
	Republican	Pat McDonough	33.1%	102,577
	Libertarian	Kristin Kasprzak	4.6%	14,128
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	592
Total Votes				309,480
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Pat McDonough	71.4%	28,397
Carl Magee	10.6%	4,195
Bill Heine	8.1%	3,203
Yuripzy Morgan	5.7%	2,257
Mark Shell	4.3%	1,709
Total Votes		39,761
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

2014

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of Maryland held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger (D) defeated challengers David Banach (R) and Ian Schlakman (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger Incumbent	61.3%	120,412
	Republican	David Banach	35.9%	70,411
	Green	Ian Schlakman	2.7%	5,326
	Write-in	Others	0.1%	205
Total Votes				196,354
Source: Maryland Secretary of State Official Results

General election candidates

• David Banach
• Dutch Ruppersberger - Incumbent a
• Ian Schlakman

June 24, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary

• Dutch Ruppersberger - Incumbenta
• Blaine Taylor
• Paul Rundquist

Republican Primary

• David Banacha

Third Party Candidates

• Ian Schlakman
• Mark Gerard Shell
• Joseph Sperber

Failed to submit petitions

• Mark Gerard Shell
• Joseph Sperber

2012

See also: Maryland's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012

The 2nd Congressional District of Maryland held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012, in which incumbent Dutch Ruppersberger (D) won re-election. He defeated Nancy Jacobs (R), Ray Bly (R) and Leo Dymowski (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger Incumbent	65.6%	194,088
	Republican	Nancy Jacobs	31.1%	92,071
	Libertarian	Leo Dymowski	3.2%	9,344
	Republican	Ray Bly (Write-in)	0%	22
	N/A	Other Write-ins	0.1%	415
Total Votes				295,940
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections "Representative in Congress"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Dutch Ruppersberger won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Marcelo Cardarelli (R) and Lorenzo Gaztanaga (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger incumbent	64.2%	134,133
	Republican	Marcelo Cardarelli	33.3%	69,523
	Libertarian	Lorenzo Gaztanaga	2.4%	5,090
	Independent	Write-In	0.1%	158
Total Votes				208,904

2008
On November 4, 2008, Dutch Ruppersberger won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Richard Matthews (R) and Lorenzo Gaztanaga (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger incumbent	71.9%	198,578
	Republican	Richard Matthews	24.8%	68,561
	Libertarian	Lorenzo Gaztanaga	3.2%	8,786
	N/A	Write in	0.1%	408
Total Votes				276,333

2006
On November 7, 2006, Dutch Ruppersberger won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jimmy Mathis (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger incumbent	69.2%	135,818
	Republican	Jimmy Mathis	30.7%	60,195
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	215
Total Votes				196,228

2004
On November 2, 2004, Dutch Ruppersberger won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jane Brooks (R) and Keith Salkowski (Green) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger incumbent	66.7%	164,751
	Republican	Jane Brooks	30.7%	75,812
	Green	Keith Salkowski	2.6%	6,508
Total Votes				247,071

2002
On November 5, 2002, Dutch Ruppersberger won election to the United States House. He defeated Helen Delich Bentley (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dutch Ruppersberger	54.3%	105,718
	Republican	Helen Delich Bentley	45.7%	88,954
Total Votes				194,672

2000
On November 7, 2000, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Kenneth T. Bosley (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Maryland District 2 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. incumbent	68.6%	178,556
	Democratic	Kenneth T. Bosley	31.3%	81,591
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	285
Total Votes				260,432

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Maryland after the 2020 census

Maryland adopted new congressional district boundaries on April 4, 2022, when Gov. Larry Hogan (R) signed revised redistricting legislation that the General Assembly had finalized on March 30, 2022. Hogan signed the new map after state Attorney General Brian Frosh withdrew his appeal of Circuit Court Judge Lynne Battaglia's ruling overturning the state's previous congressional redistricting plan. The state Senate approved the revised congressional district boundaries 30-13 with all votes in favor by Democrats and all votes opposed by Republicans on March 29, 2022. The House of Delegates approved the revised map on March 30, 2022, by a vote of 94-41 with all 'yes' votes by Democrats and 40 Republicans and one Democrat voting 'no.'

How does redistricting in Maryland work? In Maryland, the primary authority to adopt both congressional and state legislative district lines rests with the state legislature. The governor submits a state legislative redistricting proposal (an advisory commission appointed by the governor assists in drafting this proposal). The state legislature may pass its own plan by joint resolution, which is not subject to gubernatorial veto. If the legislature fails to approve its own plan, the governor's plan takes effect. Congressional lines are adopted solely by the legislature and may be vetoed by the governor.

The Maryland Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous, compact, and "give 'due regard' for political boundaries and natural features." No such requirements apply to congressional districts.

Maryland District 2
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Maryland District 2
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 2nd Congressional District of Maryland after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Maryland after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Maryland State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census. On March 30, 2012, the 2nd District was included in a list released by the National Journal of the top ten most contorted congressional districts, as a result of redistricting.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+7. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 7 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 2nd the 147th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 59.4%-38.6%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+7. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 7 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 2nd the 145th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 59.4% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 38.6%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Maryland's 2nd Congressional District the 113th most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.04. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.04 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Maryland
• Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
• Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
• Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
• Maryland's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 2

Footnotes

[show]

Maryland's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Angela Alsobrooks (D)

Chris Hollen (D)

Representatives

District 1

Andrew Harris (R)

District 2

John Olszewski (D)

District 3

Sarah Elfreth (D)

District 4

Glenn Ivey (D)

District 5

Steny Hoyer (D)

District 6

April McClain-Delaney (D)

District 7

Kweisi Mfume (D)

District 8

Jamie Raskin (D)

Democratic Party (9)

Republican Party (1)