Mapping it out: Explore the major changes to Maryland’s congressional districts
Now, “the 3rd District has undergone this incredible transformation,” Eberly said. The parts of Howard and Anne Arundel counties in the redrawn district, he noted, are similar economically and politically and also use the same corridors of transportation for work and shopping.
“That district just makes sense, which is one of the crazy aspects, because it has replaced the district that was known nationally as one of the worst gerrymanders,” Eberly said.It remains a safely blue district, one Biden would have won by 25 points in 2020. Rep. John Sarbanes’s home was drawn out of the district, though there is no federal requirement that congressional candidates live in the district they represent.
Eberly said that in the previous decade’s map, it appeared Democrats in the General Assembly sought to spread out these voters into other districts — to make them bluer — rather than keeping them all contained in one compact area.“That’s roughly 13 or so percentage points of excess Democratic votes that [Democrats] would like to use in another district that’s not as safe — but that didn’t happen here,” Eberly said. “It again speaks to how different this map is.
Hoyer, one of Congress’s biggest power brokers, told The Post he would “continue to champion” his longtime communities if reelected, while getting to know the district’s new constituents as well.With the stroke of Hogan’s pen, the Western Maryland-anchored 6th District immediately became Maryland’s most-watched congressional race this year.
Republicans have an opportunity to take the district back — under the right conditions, Eberly said. The map swung 13 points in Republicans’ favor, from a district President Biden won by 23 points in 2020 under the old map to one he would have won by just under 10. The map now excludes some of the bluer portions of Montgomery County and includes all of Frederick County, in addition to all of Maryland’s rural westernmost counties.