Maryland State Senate elections, 2026

2026 Maryland Senate Elections
Primary	Pending
General	November 3, 2026

2026 Elections
Choose a chamber below:

Elections for the Maryland State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

The Maryland State Senate is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.

Party control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates and State government trifectas

Party	As of March 2025
	Democratic Party	34
	Republican Party	13
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total	47

Candidates

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

This list will be updated after the candidate filing deadline has passed and the official list of candidates becomes available. Please contact us if you notice an official candidate missing from the list or the inclusion of a candidate who withdrew.

Primary

General election

Voting information

See also: Voting in Maryland

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Competitiveness

This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in Maryland. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.

Process to become a candidate

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Maryland

See statutes: Election Law, Title 5 of the Annotated Code of Maryland

For principal party candidates

A candidate for federal, statewide, or state legislative office seeking the nomination of a principal political party in a primary election must submit to the Maryland State Board of Elections a certificate of candidacy, which notes the office being sought, the year of the election, the name and address of the candidate, and includes a statement verifying that the candidate satisfies the legal requirements for candidacy for the office being sought. A candidate for statewide or state legislative office must also submit a financial disclosure form to the Maryland State Ethics Commission.^[1][2]

A principal party candidate must pay a filing fee. Fees vary according to the office being sought and are established by statute. Fees are detailed in the table below.^[3]

Filing fees for principal party candidates
Office sought	Filing fee
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, United States Senator, Comptroller of the Treasury, Attorney General	$290
United States Representative	$100
Member of the General Assembly	$50

All required paperwork and filing fees must be submitted to the appropriate office by 9 p.m. on the last Tuesday in February of the election year. It should be noted that the certificate of candidacy must be submitted in person (or by certified mail, personal messenger, or delivery service if the candidate is unable to file in person due to illness, military service, or temporary absence from the state).^[1][4]

For non-principal party candidates

Non-principal party candidates file paperwork in two phases. First, a candidate must submit a declaration of intent to the Maryland State Board of Elections. This form must be filed by the last Tuesday in February of the election year. A filing fee does not have to be paid at this time.^[1][5]

By 5 p.m. on the first Monday in August of the election year, the candidate must submit to the Maryland State Board of Elections a certificate of nomination signed by the officers of the candidate's party (non-principal parties may determine for themselves the methods by which they nominate candidates). The candidate must also submit at this time the same financial disclosure form as principal party candidates. Non-principal party candidates must likewise pay the same filing fees as principal party candidates.^[1][5]

For independent candidates

Independent candidates file paperwork in two phases. First, a candidate must submit a declaration of intent to the Maryland State Board of Elections. This form must be filed no later than the first Monday in July.^[1][6][7]

By 5 p.m. on the first Monday in August of the election year, the candidate must submit a certificate of candidacy to the Maryland State Board of Elections and a financial disclosure form to the Maryland State Ethics Commission. The candidate must also submit to the Maryland State Board of Elections a petition signed by either 10,000 registered voters, or 1 percent of the total number of voters who are eligible to vote for the office being sought by the candidate, whichever is less. Independent candidates must also pay the same filing fees as party candidates.^[1][6]

For write-in candidates

A write-in candidate for either the primary or general election who intends to have his or her votes tallied must file a certificate of candidacy and a financial disclosure form. The deadline for filing these materials with the appropriate office is the earlier of the following:^[4]

• seven days after a total expenditure of at least $51 is made to promote the candidacy by the candidate's campaign finance entity
• 5 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the day of the election

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Section 9 of Article 3 of the Maryland Constitution states, "A person is eligible to serve as a Senator or Delegate, who on the date of his election, (1) is a citizen of the State of Maryland, (2) has resided therein for at least one year next preceding that date, and (3) if the district which he has been chosen to represent has been established for at least six months prior to the date of his election, has resided in that district for six months next preceding that date.

If the district which the person has been chosen to represent has been established less than six months prior to the date of his election, then in addition to (1) and (2) above, he shall have resided in the district for as long as it has been established.

A person is eligible to serve as a Senator, if he has attained the age of twenty-five years, or as a Delegate, if he has attained the age of twenty-one years, on the date of his election.^[8]

Salaries and per diem

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024[9]
Salary	Per diem
$54,437/year	$115/day for lodging. $63/day for meals.

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Maryland legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January after the election.^[10]

Maryland political history

Trifectas

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

Maryland Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty-two years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Presidential politics in Maryland

2024

See also: Presidential election, 2024

2020

See also: Presidential election, 2020

2016

See also: Presidential election, 2016

Maryland presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 22 Democratic wins
• 10 Republican wins

Redistricting following the 2020 census

Maryland adopted legislative maps on January 27, 2022, when the Maryland House of Delegates approved new legislative district boundaries that had been approved on January 20, 2022, by the Maryland State Senate. The vote in the state Senate was 32-14 and in the House of Delegates was 95-42, both strictly along party lines.^{[11][12][13][14]}Since legislative maps are not subject to gubernatorial veto, the maps were therefore enacted.

See also

Maryland	State Legislative Elections	News and Analysis
Maryland State Executive Offices Maryland State Legislature Maryland Courts	2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 Maryland elections: 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015	Party control of state government State government trifectas Partisan composition of state legislatures Partisan composition of state senates Partisan composition of state houses

External links

• Maryland State Senate

Footnotes