WASHINGTON — Maryland Democrats and Republicans are heading to the polls Tuesday to choose their parties’ nominees for president, and will also select candidates to run for an open U.S. Senate seat and two open congressional seats in the D.C. suburbs.
Voters in Baltimore also are weighing in on nominees for mayor and city council. And Montgomery and Prince George’s county voters choose candidates for several school board seats.
The polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m. The first live election returns are expected by 9 p.m.
“This is about as exciting as it gets when it comes to Maryland primaries,” Todd Eberly, a political analyst at Mount St. Mary’s University, told WTOP.
Early voting turnout surged statewide, with 7.5 percent of eligible voters casting ballots during the eight-day period that ended Thursday, The Associated Press reported. Montgomery and Prince George’s counties reported similarly high early voting turnout.
Montgomery County is planning for a turnout of up to 40 percent; Prince George’s County is expecting 40 percent or more of eligible voters to cast a ballot, election officials said.
New this year, voters are filling out paper ballots using a pen and then scanning them to cast their vote. Montgomery County Board of Elections spokeswoman Marjorie Roher compared the new voting system to taking an SAT exam.
She urged voters to know whom they will support for before coming to their polling place, and to bring a sample ballot with them. Any voter still in line when the polls close will be allowed to vote, Roher said.
She said the county has an ample supply of paper ballots and will send more blank ballots to any polling place that requires them.
While much of the focus has been on the presidential races, the front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are expected to win handily in Maryland and the four other states voting Tuesday.
Even so, it’s likely to be a long night of counting once the polls close, because of three tightly contested races for Congress.
The retirement of long-serving Sen. Barbara Mikulski set up a bruising primary race between Reps. Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen. Polls heading into Tuesday gave Van Hollen a slight edge over Edwards.
The campaign has touched on diversity and constituent services, and an ad put out by a political action committee supporting Edwards drew the ire of fellow Democrats President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
That ad may have stalled Edwards’ momentum at a key point, just weeks before the primary, Eberly said.
Van Hollen has benefited from key endorsements from elected leaders. Former governor Martin O’Malley announced his support for Van Hollen Monday, a last-minute announcement that could help sway some still undecided. And in the tight race, a few votes could make the difference, Eberly said.
The Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending, has called the Maryland Senate race one of the most expensive in the country this election cycle. The Edwards and Van Hollen campaigns have spent a combined $9 million through the end of March.
But the race to replace Van Hollen in the U.S. House has cost even more — totaling $13.8 million by the end of March — and is the most expensive House race this primary season. The top three candidates have spent the bulk of that cash. Retailer David Trone, former WJLA anchor Kathleen Matthews and state Sen. Jamie Raskin are battling for the Democratic nomination.
“That is going to be a nail-biter,” Eberly said of the 8th Congressional District race. The district stretches from the D.C. line through parts of Montgomery, Frederick and Carroll counties.
One of the Democratic candidates will face the winner of the five-candidate Republican primary in the November election.
The race to fill Edwards’ seat is also hotly contested, and pits former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown against former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey and current state Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk. They’ve spent more than $2 million so far for the chance to represent parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.
