Less than a week after longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) announced he will not seek re-election to the seat he’s held for 45 years, the list of candidates hoping to replace him is growing — and could continue to do so.
The eight candidates who were already filed with the Maryland State Board of Elections last week gained a ninth Tuesday, when Republican Michelle Talkington, who unsuccessfully challenged Hoyer in 2024, filed her candidacy paperwork with the board.
His paperwork was not in Tuesday, but Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s) announced Monday that he’s in the race for the 5th District seat. He already had a congressional campaign website that claimed he had raised $100,000 in one day and garnered 14 endorsements.
And that doesn’t include the other state lawmakers and former congressional candidates who said this week they are “definitely considering” the possibility of a run.
Political analysts predicted the Democratic primary would be crowded, with the winner of it almost certain of a general election victory in the district, where there were 2.5 registered Democrats for every registered Republican in 2024. The district includes the three Southern Maryland counties of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s with portions or Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.
Analysts also said they expect voters in the district would choose a more progressive Democratic nominee in the June 23 primary than the more-moderate Hoyer.
Boafo said Tuesday that he is optimistic about the race, which he said is about “the next chapter for this district.”
“It’s about new generation of leadership,” said Boafo, 31, who worked as a campaign manager for Hoyer between 2019 and 2021. “This is a five-month sprint, so we only have a short amount of time. We got to get out there and see where we go from here.”
Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) — one of the “definitely considering” candidates — stressed Tuesday that whether it’s him or someone else, the person seeking the office must have “the people of the district in mind.”
“It just can’t be people who just want to be in political office,” Wilson said. “It’s important [that] whoever we have in office realizes that. It’s a huge concern of mine we just start attracting a lot of politicians, and their claim to fame is politics. Tell me what you have done. I’m hoping that somebody has that kind of dignity to make sure they’re running for the right reasons.”
Other “strongly considering” candidates include Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles) and former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd District seat in 2024. While Dunn lives in the 8th District, congressional candidates in Maryland are not required to live in the district they’re seeking.
Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince George’s), who chairs the county’s House delegation, reiterated from last week she’s giving “strong consideration” to run. Williams said she’ll decide in about a week.
In addition to Talkington, a Charles County resident, there are five Democrats, two unaffiliated candidates and another Republican currently filed for the seat, according to the board of elections. One of those Democrats, retired Navy officer Terry Jackson, said over the weekend that Hoyer’s decision to step down opens the field.
“No one should be anointed. This open seat levels the playing field, and voters deserve a race decided on merit—not inevitability or insider assumptions,” said Jackson, who filed his candidacy in October.
Hoyer, who said Thursday that he would likely recommend a successor at some point, said that Tuesday was not that time.
When asked a possible endorsement as he left the Maryland Democratic Party’s annual legislative lunch, where fellow Democrats heaped praise on him for his service, Hoyer would only say, “I’m not going to do anything right now.”
— This story was updated on Wednesday, Jan. 14, to correct Sen. Arthur Ellis’ district.