• MD-02: A mid-February internal poll for Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski obtained by the Baltimore Banner shows him dominating the May 14 Democratic primary in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger. The survey, conducted by Global Strategy Group, has Olszewski leading Del. Harry Bhandari by a giant 50-5 margin, with 38% undecided. Maryland's solidly blue 2nd District, located in Baltimore's northern suburbs, backed Joe Biden 59-39.
• MD-06: Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has endorsed former Commerce Department official April McClain Delaney in the crowded Democratic primary in Maryland's open 6th Congressional District. Delaney's husband, former Rep. John Delaney, represented the district for three terms in the 2010s when Pelosi was minority leader.
Delaney also earned the backing of former Chevy Chase Vice Mayor Joel Rubin, who announced on Wednesday he was ending his campaign and would support Delaney instead. In addition, Delaney became the first candidate to start running TV ads this week, launching a new spot in which she largely eschews partisan themes (apart from a reference to "regaining the right to choose") and instead focuses on her desire to "find common ground."
• NC-08: Pastor Mark Harris, whose apparent victory at the polls in 2018 was thrown out due to a vast conspiracy to steal the election orchestrated by one of his consultants, looks like he'll make it to Congress after all.
On Wednesday, the Associated Press called the GOP primary in North Carolina's open 8th District for Harris, who just barely avoided a runoff by taking 30.4% of the vote. (Candidates need only clear 30%, the lowest such threshold in the nation.) Harris' nearest rival, former Union County Commissioner Allan Baucom, finished close behind with 27%.
In addition to overcoming his scandal-tarred resume, Harris faced down seven figures in attack ads from conservative billionaires determined to stop him. And now, thanks to Republican gerrymandering, he'll face little opposition in the general election to succeed Rep. Dan Bishop, who is running for attorney general: Donald Trump carried the 8th District east of Charlotte 58-41, and Harris' Democratic opponent, technology consultant Justin Dues, has not reported raising any money.
• NC-13: The AP has called the second spot in the GOP primary for North Carolina's open 13th district for former federal prosecutor Brad Knott, who has confirmed he'll request a runoff. Knott will now go head-to-head on May 14 with wealthy attorney Kelly Daughtry, who led him 27-19 on Tuesday night.
Last year, Republicans gerrymandered this district to mutate it from a swing seat into safely red turf. Under the previous lines, Democrat Wiley Nickel won a 52-48 victory in 2022 over Republican Bo Hines (who badly lost the primary for the 6th District on Tuesday), a performance similar to Joe Biden's 50-48 margin in the district.
Now, though, the 13th, which is based in the Raleigh exurbs, would have backed Donald Trump 58-41, a transformation that prompted Nickel to announce that he'd run for the U.S. Senate in 2026 rather than seek reelection this year.
• OH-09: Republican J.R. Majewski, who said over the weekend that he was abandoning his campaign for Congress, has formally notified election officials of his withdrawal from the race. Majewski's name will still appear on the March 19 primary ballot, but votes cast for him will not count, and administrators will place notices at polling places informing voters of that fact.
The race to take on Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is now essentially a two-way contest between state Rep. Derek Merrin, who has the support of Speaker Mike Johnson and the Congressional Leadership Fund, and former state Rep. Craig Riedel. Another contender, former Napoleon Mayor Steve Lankenau, is still in the race, but he's attracted little attention.
• TX-32: With nearly all votes counted, trauma surgeon Brian Williams has conceded the Democratic primary in Texas' open 32nd District to state Rep. Julie Johnson. While the AP had yet to call the race as of Wednesday afternoon, Johnson had amassed 50.1% of the vote—just over the threshold needed to avoid a May 28 runoff. Williams was far behind with 19%.
Johnson received a late boost from a super PAC funded by the cryptocurrency industry called Protect Progress, which spent about $1 million on her behalf. The Daily Beast's Sam Brodey reported last week that the infusion came after Johnson added a section to her campaign website expressing support for "crypto innovation."
Johnson will be the easy favorite in November in this Dallas-area district, which Republicans made much bluer in the most recent round of redistricting in order to make surrounding seats safer for GOP incumbents. Johnson would also be the first openly LGBTQ+ person to represent Texas or any other Southern state in Congress. (It was only after she died in 1996 that news accounts identified legendary Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan as a lesbian; she never discussed her sexuality during her lifetime.)