The

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

congressional elections of 2006 were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. The terms of all eight representatives to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

expired on January 3, 2007, and therefore all were put up for contest. The winning candidates served a two-year term from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2009.

Overview

District 1

Incumbent Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, seeking his ninth term in Congress, faced Jim Corwin, the Democratic nominee and a family physician. Gilchrest's reputation as a moderate Republican built up his popularity and he was overwhelmingly re-elected in this conservative,

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia * Eastern Shore of Maryland, a region * Eastern Shore of Virginia, a region * Eastern Shore (Al ...

-based district.

District 2

In this heavily-gerrymandered and relatively liberal district, incumbent Democratic Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger faced no serious threat from Republican candidate Jimmy Mathis. Ruppersberger won a third term in this district that includes small parts of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and some of the Baltimore metropolitan area in a landslide.

District 3

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Ben Cardin declined to seek an eleventh term so that he could run for Senate. John Sarbanes, the son of retiring Senator Paul Sarbanes and an attorney, won a crowded Democratic primary and became the Democratic nominee.

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

marketing executive John White was the Republican nominee, and, true to the liberal nature of this district based in the Baltimore metropolitan area, Sarbanes beat White.

District 4

In this district, which has a majority

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

population and is based in

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

and Montgomery County, is heavily liberal. Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Al Wynn Albert Russell Wynn (born September 10, 1951) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 4th district of Maryland from 1993 to 2008. On February 13, 2008, ...

survived a tough primary challenge from lawyer Donna Edwards, and since the Democratic primary is tantamount to election, Wynn was the heavy favorite to win the general election, which he ultimately did.

District 5

House Minority Whip

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer (born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and attorney serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981 and as House majority leader, House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat ...

, who has served in Congress since he was elected in a 1981 special election to fill the seat previously held by

Gladys Spellman Gladys Noon Spellman (born Gladys Blossom Noon; March 1, 1918 – June 19, 1988) was an American educator who served as the U.S. Representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district from January 3, 1975, to February 24, 1981, when her seat wa ...

, did not face a Republican opponent in this election. Hoyer's election to his fourteenth term was never in doubt, however, seeing as this district, based in the

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

and southern Maryland, is heavily liberal. Hoyer beat out Green Party candidate Steve Warner and Constitution Party candidate Peter Kuhnert to win another term in Congress.

District 6

This district, based in the heavily conservative Maryland panhandle and the moderately conservative northern suburbs of

, has sent incumbent Republican Congressman Roscoe Bartlett back to Washington with solid margins of re-election, and this year proved no different. Congressman Bartlett faced

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

veteran Andrew J. Duck in the general election, and though he ultimately beat Duck out, it was by a thinner margin than usual.

District 7

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings, who has represented this heavily liberal district based in

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

and Howard County since previous Congressman

Kweisi Mfume Kweisi Mfume ( ; born Frizzell Gerald Gray; October 24, 1948) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Maryland's 7th congressional district, first serving from 1987 to 1996 and again since 2020. A member of the Democratic Pa ...

resigned in 1996. This year, the popular Cummings did not face any opponent of any kind in the general election and he coasted to a seventh term.

District 8

Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen, considered by many to be a rising star in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, has represented this staunchly liberal district based in the

since his initial election in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. Van Hollen faced no serious threat to his bid for a third term from Republican Jeffrey Stein or Green Party candidate Gerard Giblin, and he crushed both of them in the general election.