Annapolis, Maryland

Democratic incumbent Wes Moore has won re-election as Maryland governor, defeating Republican challenger Dan Cox, according to the Associated Press, which called the race shortly after polls closed. Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller first took office in January 2023, with Moore becoming the state's first Black governor and Miller the first immigrant and Asian American elected to statewide office in Maryland. The win mirrors Moore's lopsided 2022 victory over Cox, a former state delegate who also made unsuccessful bids for Congress.

Moore campaigned on public safety gains, citing a sharp drop in violent crime, and backed Question 3, a congressional redistricting ballot measure Cox opposed. Cox had focused on tax cuts and public safety. Pre-election polling had shown Moore with a commanding lead.

Maryland's 2026 general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, with early voting running Oct. 22–29. Online and mail registration has closed, but in-person registration remains available through early voting and on Election Day with proof of address. Mail-in ballot requests face late-October deadlines, and ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.

Gov. Wes Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller seek reelection against Republican, Green, and Working Class Party challengers. Attorney General Anthony Brown and Comptroller Brooke Lierman also defend their seats. All eight U.S. House seats and all 188 General Assembly seats are on the ballot. Voters will also weigh three constitutional amendments, most notably Question 3, which would clarify that redistricting rules apply only to state legislative maps, not congressional boundaries, amid a national gerrymandering debate.

Maryland's Tax Court has voided the state's first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax, ruling it violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act along with the First Amendment and the Constitution's commerce and due process clauses. The court ordered state officials to refund tax money already collected from Apple, Google and Peacock TV.

Enacted in 2021, the law taxed digital ad revenue at rates from 2.5% to 10% based on companies' global gross revenue, and was projected to raise roughly $250 million a year to help fund a major K-12 education initiative. Meta, Amazon and other tech firms challenged the law across multiple venues, and a federal appeals court previously struck down a provision barring companies from disclosing the tax to customers. Maryland's top Democratic legislative leaders said they disagree with the ruling and expect litigation to continue. The decision is being closely watched by other states weighing similar digital ad taxes.

A Maryland circuit court has ruled that a Democratic-backed constitutional amendment cannot appear on the November ballot, blocking a measure that could have let lawmakers redraw the state's congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections. Anne Arundel County Judge Robert Thompson found lawmakers missed their own July 1 deadline for certifying ballot summaries, siding with Republican lawmakers and the conservative Oversight Project, which sued to stop the measure. The ruling is paused to allow an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The amendment, pushed after Gov. Wes Moore called a special session, would have exempted congressional districts from compactness and "natural boundaries" rules, potentially letting Democrats target the Eastern Shore seat held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris. Democrats hold seven of Maryland's eight House seats. The decision follows a similar setback in Virginia and comes amid a broader mid-decade redistricting fight, spurred by Republican efforts backed by President Trump, that has also played out in California and Texas.