Maryland's 6th congressional district
Maryland's 6th congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives from the northwest part of the state. Today the district comprises all of Garrett, Allegany, and Washington counties as well as portions of Montgomery and Frederick counties. The seat is currently represented by David Trone (D).
Maryland's 6th congressional district | |||
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Maryland's 6th congressional district since January 3, 2013 | |||
Representative |
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Area | 3,062.27 sq mi (7,931.2 km2) | ||
Distribution |
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Population (2019) | 769,046 | ||
Median household income | $88,592[1] | ||
Ethnicity |
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Cook PVI | D+6[2] |
The current boundaries of the district were the subject of a Supreme Court lawsuit over partisan gerrymandering. The court ruled that taking into account partisan advantage when redistributing is "not judiciable" in Federal courts, leaving it to the states.[3]
History
The Maryland 6th District was one of the original districts that had a congressman starting in 1789. At that time, the district essentially had what remains its modern boundaries, consisting of the Maryland panhandle and areas eastward, all the way to the modern western boundary of the District of Columbia. However, after the 1790 census Maryland's representation increased to 8 congresspersons. The new sixth district was in the north-east corner of the state east of Baltimore, covering essentially the modern counties of Harford, Cecil and Kent.[4]
In 2012 the district was found to be the ninth least compact congressional district in the United States.[5]
For years, the 6th was a mostly rural and conservative district anchored in western Maryland. It was in Republican hands for all but one term from 1943 to 1971, before conservative Democrat Goodloe Byron won it in 1971. He died in 1978 and was succeeded by his widow, Beverly, who held it for seven terms before being ousted by a more liberal challenger in the 1992 Democratic primary. Republican Roscoe Bartlett won the general election, and was reelected without serious challenge nine more times.
However, redistricting after the 2010 census significantly altered the 6th. It lost heavily Republican Carroll County, as well as the more rural and conservative portions of Frederick County, to the 8th District. It also lost its shares of Baltimore and Harford counties to the already heavily Republican 1st District. Taking their place was a heavily Democratic spur of western Montgomery County, which was connected to the rest of the district by a tendril in Frederick County.
The new map turned the 6th from a heavily Republican district into a Democratic-leaning district. While John McCain carried the 6th with 57 percent of the vote in 2008,[6] Barack Obama would have carried the new 6th with 56 percent.[7] This was mainly because the Montgomery County portion had almost three times as many people as the rest of the district combined.
In his bid for an 11th term, Bartlett was defeated by Democrat John Delaney, who lives in the Montgomery County portion of the district, by over 21 points.
Proving just how Democratic this district was, in 2014, Delaney narrowly won a second term against Republican Dan Bongino. Delaney only won one county in the district. However, that one county was Montgomery, where Bongino lost by over 20,500 votes.[8]
In 2013, Republican voters filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the Democratic legislature and Governor Martin O'Malley had engaged in partisan gerrymandering, redrawing the 6th district after the 2010 census in a way that intentionally and unconstitutionally diluted Republican voters by including parts of the heavily Democratic Washington suburbs. A federal district judge initially dismissed the lawsuit, as did the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, for failure to state a claim. The Republicans appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in 2015 that the lower courts had improperly dismissed the case. The case went back to the lower courts where a three judge panel ruled that the Republicans could not prove that John Delaney's election in 2012 was a result of the redistricting. Republican voters again appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case, Benisek v. Lamone, in December 2017.[9][10] In June 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that questions of partisan gerrymandering represented a nonjusticiable political question and remanded the case back to the district court with instructions to dismiss the case.
Recent results in statewide elections
Year | Office | Results |
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2000 | U.S. President | Bush 61% – 36% |
2004 | U.S. President | Bush 65% – 34% |
2008 | U.S. President | McCain 58% – 40% |
2012 | U.S. President | Obama 55% – 42% |
2016 | U.S. President | H. Clinton 55% – 39% |
2020 | U.S. President | Biden 61% – 38% |
List of members representing the district
Recent election results
1990
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Beverly B. Byron (Incumbent) | 106,502 | 65.35 | |
Republican | Christopher P. Fiotes, Jr. | 56,479 | 34.65 | |
Total votes | 162,981 | 100.00 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
1992
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett | 125,564 | 54.17 | |||
Democratic | Thomas H. Hattery | 106,224 | 45.83 | |||
Total votes | 231,788 | 100.00 | ||||
Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
1994
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 122,809 | 65.95 | |
Democratic | Paul Muldowney | 63,411 | 34.05 | |
Total votes | 186,220 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
1996
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 132,853 | 56.83 | |
Democratic | Stephen Crawford | 100,910 | 43.16 | |
Write-ins | 25 | 0.01 | ||
Total votes | 233,788 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
1998
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 127,802 | 63.42 | |
Democratic | Timothy D. McCown | 73,728 | 36.58 | |
Total votes | 201,530 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2000
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 168,624 | 60.65 | |
Democratic | Donald M. DeArmon | 109,136 | 39.25 | |
Write-ins | 285 | 0.10 | ||
Total votes | 278,045 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2002
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 147,825 | 66.17 | |
Democratic | Donald M. DeArmon | 75,575 | 33.83 | |
Total votes | 223,400 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2004
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 206,076 | 67.45 | |
Democratic | Kenneth T. Bosley | 90,108 | 29.49 | |
Green | Gregory T. Hemingway | 9,324 | 3.05 | |
Total votes | 305,508 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2006
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 141,200 | 58.97 | |
Democratic | Andrew J. Duck | 92,030 | 38.43 | |
Green | Robert E. Kozak | 6,095 | 2.55 | |
Write-ins | 128 | 0.05 | ||
Total votes | 239,453 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2008
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 190,926 | 57.76 | |
Democratic | Jennifer Dougherty | 128,207 | 38.79 | |
Libertarian | Gary W. Hoover, Sr. | 11,060 | 3.35 | |
Write-ins | 342 | 0.10 | ||
Total votes | 330,535 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2010
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Roscoe Bartlett (Incumbent) | 148,820 | 61.45 | |
Democratic | Andrew J. Duck | 80,455 | 33.22 | |
Libertarian | Dan Massey | 6,816 | 2.81 | |
Constitution | Michael Reed | 5,907 | 2.44 | |
Write-ins | 191 | 0.08 | ||
Total votes | 242,189 | 100.00 | ||
Republican hold | ||||
2012
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Delaney | 181,921 | 58.8 | |||
Republican | Roscoe G. Bartlett (Incumbent) | 117,313 | 37.9 | |||
Libertarian | Nickolaus Mueller | 9,916 | 3.2 | |||
N/A | Others (write-in) | 399 | 0.1 | |||
Total votes | 309,549 | 100 | ||||
Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
2014
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Delaney (Incumbent) | 94,704 | 49.7 | |
Republican | Dan Bongino | 91,930 | 48.2 | |
Green | George Gluck | 3,762 | 2 | |
N/A | Others (write-in) | 140 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 190,536 | 100 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
2016
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Delaney (Incumbent) | 185,770 | 56.0% | |
Republican | Amie Hoeber | 133,081 | 40.1% | |
Libertarian | David L. Howser | 6,889 | 2.1% | |
Green | George Gluck | 5,824 | 1.8% | |
Write-in | Ted Athey | 103 | 0.0% | |
No party | Write-ins | 306 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 331,973 | 100 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
2018
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | David Trone | 163,346 | 59.0 | |
Republican | Amie Hoeber | 105,209 | 38.0 | |
Libertarian | Kevin Caldwell | 4,972 | 1.8 | |
Green | George Gluck | 3,275 | 1.2 | |
Independent | Other write-ins | 282 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 277,084 | 100 | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
2020
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | David Trone (Incumbent) | 215,540 | 58.8 | |
Republican | Neil Parrott | 143,599 | 39.2 | |
Green | George Gluck | 6,893 | 1.9 | |
No party | Write-ins | 402 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 366,434 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Historical district boundaries
Notes
- Supported the Adams-Clay faction in the 1824 United States presidential election
References
- Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
- "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
- Liptak, Adam. "Supreme Court Says Constitution Does Not Bar Partisan Gerrymandering". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- The Historical cal Parties in Congress, p. 74
- Lazarick, Len (October 3, 2012). "Maryland has least compact congressional districts in nation". MarylandReporter.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
- "Swing State Project: Presidential Results by Congressional District, 2000-2008". October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015.
- "Daily Kos Elections 2008 & 2012 presidential election results for congressional districts used in 2012 & 2014 elections". Google Docs.
- "Maryland House results". Politics. CNN. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- Supreme Court will take up a second gerrymandering case this term (Washington Post)
- "Benisek v. Lamone". Brennancenter.org. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Info" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. 1990. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- "92 PRESIDENTIAL and CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION STATISTICS". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "94 congressional election statistics". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "96 PRESIDENTIAL and CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION STATISTICS". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "1998 Election Statistics - Legislative Activities". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "2000 election statistics". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "2002 election statistics". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "2004 election statistics". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "2006 Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "2008 Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
- "Info" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- "Unofficial 2012 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
- "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Representative in Congress: Congressional District 6". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
Bibliography
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present