Charlotte Pfabe | Nov. 6, 2024

 

ELON, NC — Maryland state Senator and Democratic nominee Sarah Elfreth has won the seat for U.S. House of Representatives Maryland District 3 against Republican candidate Rob Steinberger. 

 

With 84% of votes reported, Elfreth won the House seat with 57.2% of votes, a total of 194,493 votes compared to Steinberger’s 40.2% of votes, according to The Associated Press. Elfreth’s win keeps the seat for District 3 Democratic. 

 

The results of the election were announced by The Associated Press at 10:19 p.m. on Nov. 5. Based on early polling data, Elfreth was the favored candidate. 

 

Elfreth will replace Democrat and current U.S. Representative John Sarbanes, who served as the representative for District 3 since 2007.

 

District 3 represents all of Howard County along with portions of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. 

 

At 38, Elfreth is the youngest woman to be elected to Congress in Maryland and the first woman to represent the state in the House of Representatives in eight years. The last woman to serve as a U.S. representative for Maryland was Democrat Donna Edwards, who represented Maryland District 4 from 2008-2017. 

 

In 2018, Elfreth was also the youngest woman to be elected to the State Senate in Maryland history. 

 

As a state senator, Elfreth introduced 84 bills that became law, including bills regarding the Chesapeake Bay, veterans with PTSD and expanding prenatal care. During her second term, she was appointed to serve as the chair of the Environment Subcommittee of the State Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee, where she oversaw taxpayer funds and investments in transportation, environmental, and public safety programs. 

 

Throughout her campaign, Elfreth was active on social media, posting photos with current lawmakers, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Elfreth also shared her support for other Democratic candidates like Senate Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks. 

 

Steinberger had very limited activity on social media, but primarily used Facebook during his campaign and his website to share his platform. 

 

While on the campaign trail, Elfreth was a strong advocate for expanded access to abortion rights.

 

“It's kind of the whole panoply of women being able to make healthcare decisions for themselves without government intervention,” said Elfreth during a phone interview. 

 

On the other side of the aisle, Steinberger, advocated for limitations to abortion rights. According to Steinberger’s website, he believes in a women’s right to bodily autonomy, but said there should be restrictions in place. 

 

“I do not support federal funding for abortion and believe that there should be a limitation on stages at which this can be done,” according to Steinberger’s campaign website. “I am against partial abortions and third trimester abortions, unless explicitly for the safety of the mother.” 

 

Along with 10 other states, abortion rights were also on the ballot for Marylanders during this election with an amendment which would codify abortion rights into the state’s constitution. The amendment passed with 74.1% of votes according to The Associated Press. 

 

In 2023, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed multiple bills into law that protected abortion rights and gender-affirming care in the state. And while abortion is legal in Maryland, a state constitutional amendment makes it difficult for future lawmakers to limit access. The amendment was added to the ballot in 2022 by lawmakers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

 

According to Elfreth, she plans to advocate for climate issues at the federal level, citing major floods and tornadoes hitting Maryland communities over the past few years. 

 

“In Annapolis, we've had over 90 days of flooding this year alone,” Elfreth said. “Ellicott City experienced two 1000 year floods in two years.”

 

Elfreth said she will respond to climate change using three categories: prevention, resiliency and emergency response. 

 

Prevention, Elfreth said, means investing in renewable energy sources like solar power, to reduce carbon emissions. However, Elfreth acknowledged that it takes a long period of time before consumers and communities can see the impact of renewable energy. 

 

Resiliency is ensuring that communities are prepared for extreme weather events and can recover efficiently, according to Elfreth.

 

“These storms will keep happening and the severity will only increase, and the frequency will only increase” Elfreth said. “How are we focusing on our infrastructure to make sure that we can withstand that impact?”

 

Elfreth also emphasized the importance of rapid and effective emergency response for extreme weather events like tornadoes and floods. 

 

“We've learned from every disaster in my district,” Elfreth said. “Mistakes that have been made, or bureaucratic red tape that just doesn't need to be there at those moments.”

 

Elfreth is a member of the tri-state Chesapeake Bay Commission, which works to address issues within the Chesapeake Bay and restore the watershed that stretches across Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. During the last evaluation of the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the watershed received a C+, its highest score in 20 years. 

 

Out of Maryland’s eight districts, Democratic candidates won in six. U.S. House District 1 was won by Republican Andy Harris with 62.8% of votes, and District 6 is still too close to call.

 

Maryland made history last night by electing the state’s first Black woman to the U.S. Senate, Democrat Angela Alsobrooks. Alsobrooks defeated Republican and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, winning 52.2% of the vote. While Maryland has not had a Republican Senator in over 40 years, the race for the retiring Sen. Ben Cardin’s Senate seat was tight as Hogan’s recognition and support from Marylanders was strong throughout his campaign. 

 

At 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, The Associated Press called the race for U.S. President in Maryland, giving its 10 electoral votes to Kamala Harris. While Harris won 60.2% of the votes in Maryland, the current Vice President failed to secure a win in the Presidential election, as former President Donald Trump clinched 277 electoral votes.