close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

Donald Trump is making inroads into true blue MD in the 2024 election
asane

Donald Trump is making inroads into true blue MD in the 2024 election

Listen to this article

Despite remaining solidly blue in its overall voting patterns, Maryland saw a 2020 swing toward Donald Trump in this election, with all but one county swinging in the president-elect’s direction.

Red-shifting counties registered more Trump voters in degrees ranging from fractions of a percentage point to more than four points, according to a Capital News Service analysis of unofficial election results released Nov. 13 by the Board of Elections of of the state of Maryland.

CNS analyzed data from the state board to find out what percentage of voters in each county voted for Trump in the 2020 and 2024 elections.

RELATED: MD Democrats, Elsewhere, Prepare to Fight Trump’s Policies

The counties that moved the most toward Trump were Cecil (up 4.1 points for Trump) and Somerset (up 4 points). The county that moved away from Trump was mostly Republican Garrett (down just over a point).

The county-level results added up to notable statewide variation. According to the board, President Joe Biden won the state by more than 33 points in 2020; with 94% of the votes countedKamala Harris led Trump by just 26 points.

Still, the solidly blue state contributed to Trump’s strong showing in the national popular vote. Trump made inroads in both Republican-leaning and Democratic counties in Maryland, a trend that also played out in swing states like neighboring Pennsylvania.

In other words, Maryland — though it voted solidly for Harris — was still part of the national red tide now facing Democratic leaders.

“I know this is not an outcome that most Marylanders were hoping for,” Democratic Gov. Wes Moore told his cabinet after the result was clear, according to remarks released by his office. “But this is an outcome we’ve been preparing for.”

In Maryland, some of Trump’s biggest gains came in counties that are among the most liberal in the state. He took home 22 percent of the vote in the Democratic stronghold of Montgomery County, up 3.5 points from 2020.

RELATED: Trump’s pledge to ‘drain the swamp’ risks thousands of federal jobs in MD

Other heavily Democratic-leaning areas also swung toward Trump, including Prince George’s County, Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

Garrett County, the lone county that showed no improvement for Trump, continued a very slight trend away from the former president.

Despite a disappointing result for his party, Moore vowed to continue his efforts to improve Maryland under Trump.

“We stand ready to work with the next administration to make sure Marylanders are protected,” Moore said, “and our goal of making this the Maryland Decade has not changed at all.”

He also called for unity, stressing that Maryland’s shared income identity transcends partisan affiliation.

“I know there are people in our state who voted for Donald Trump — and there are people in our state who voted for Kamala Harris,” Moore said. “The common denominator is that they are all from Maryland. And they will all be defended, they will be protected, and they will be listened to.”

Jack Bowman and Taylor Nichols report for Capital News Service.