Maryland's 6th congressional district

History

The Maryland 6th District was one of the original districts that had a congressman starting in 1789. At that time, the district essentially had what remained its modern boundaries, consisting of the Maryland panhandle and areas eastward, all the way to the modern western boundary of the District of Columbia. However, after the 1790 census Maryland's representation increased to 8 congressmen. (Women would not be elected to Congress until 1916.) The new sixth district was in the north-east corner of the state east of Baltimore, covering essentially the modern counties of Harford, Cecil and Kent.

For most of the time from 1873 to 2013, the 6th was a mostly rural district anchored in western Maryland. It was in Republican hands for all but one term from 1943 to 1971, before conservative Democrat Goodloe Byron won it in 1971. He died in 1978 and was succeeded by his widow, Beverly, who held it for seven terms before being ousted by a more liberal challenger in the 1992 Democratic primary. Republican Roscoe Bartlett won the general election, and was reelected without serious challenge nine more times.

However, redistricting after the 2010 census significantly altered the 6th. It lost much of heavily Republican Carroll County, as well as the more rural and conservative portions of Frederick County, to the heavily Democratic 8th District. It also lost its shares of Baltimore and Harford counties, as well as another portion of Carroll, to the already heavily Republican 1st District. Taking their place was a heavily Democratic spur of western Montgomery County, which was only connected to the rest of the district by a tendril in Frederick County.

The new map turned the 6th from a heavily Republican district into a Democratic-leaning district. While John McCain carried the 6th with 57 percent of the vote in 2008, Barack Obama would have carried the new 6th with 56 percent. This was mainly because the Montgomery County portion had almost three times as many people as the rest of the district combined.

In his bid for an 11th term, Bartlett was defeated by Democrat John Delaney, who lives in the Montgomery County portion of the district, by over 21 points. Proving just how Democratic this district was, in 2014, Delaney narrowly won a second term against Republican Dan Bongino. Delaney only won one county in the district. However, that one county was Montgomery, where Bongino lost by over 20,500 votes.

In 2013, Republican voters filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the Democratic legislature and Governor Martin O'Malley had engaged in partisan gerrymandering, redrawing the 6th district after the 2010 census in a way that intentionally and unconstitutionally diluted Republican voters by including parts of the heavily Democratic Washington suburbs. A federal district judge initially dismissed the lawsuit, as did the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, for failure to state a claim. The Republicans appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in 2015 that the lower courts had improperly dismissed the case. The case went back to the lower courts where a three judge panel ruled that the Republicans could not prove that John Delaney's election in 2012 was a result of the redistricting. Republican voters again appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case, Benisek v. Lamone, in December 2017. In June 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that questions of partisan gerrymandering represented a nonjusticiable political question and remanded the case back to the district court with instructions to dismiss the case.

Recent election results from statewide races

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:

Allegany County (45)

: All 45 communities

Frederick County (26)

: All 26 communities

Garrett County (15)

: All 15 communities

Montgomery County (9)

: Barnesville, Clarksburg, Damascus (part; also 8th), Darnestown (part; also 8th), Gaithersburg, Germantown, Montgomery Village (part; also 8th), Poolesville, Ten Mile Creek

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

References

1. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District".
2. (April 3, 2025). "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)".
3. Varney, James. (October 31, 2018). "Amie Hoeber and David Trone, Maryland's 6th Congressional District candidates, don't live there". The Washington Times.
4. (June 27, 2019). "Supreme Court Says Constitution Does Not Bar Partisan Gerrymandering". The New York Times.
5. Lazarick, Len. (3 October 2012). "Maryland has least compact congressional districts in nation". MarylandReporter.com.
6. Leckrone, Bennett. (2022-03-30). "The Major Shakeups for Incumbents in Legislative Leaders' Redrawn Congressional Map".
7. The Historical cal Parties in Congress, p. 74
8. (16 October 2015). "Swing State Project: Presidential Results by Congressional District, 2000–2008".
9. "Daily Kos Elections 2008 & 2012 presidential election results for congressional districts used in 2012 & 2014 elections".
10. (November 4, 2014). "Maryland House results". CNN.
11. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/2017/12/08/4fde65f4-dc66-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html Supreme Court will take up a second gerrymandering case this term] (Washington Post)
12. "Benisek v. Lamone". Brennancenter.org.
13. "Dra 2020".
14. "Statewide Data Breakdown by State Congressional Districts".
15. "Statewide Data Breakdown by State Congressional Districts".
16. [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST24/CD118_MD01.pdf https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST24/CD118_MD06.pdf]
17. (1990). "Info". clerk.house.gov.
18. "92 PRESIDENTIAL and CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION STATISTICS". Office of the Clerk.
19. "94 congressional election statistics". Office of the Clerk.
20. "96 PRESIDENTIAL and CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION STATISTICS". Office of the Clerk.
21. "1998 Election Statistics – Legislative Activities". Office of the Clerk.
22. "2000 election statistics". Office of the Clerk.
23. "2002 election statistics". Office of the Clerk.
24. "2004 election statistics". Office of the Clerk.
25. "2006 Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk.
26. "2008 Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk.
27. (2010). "Info". clerk.house.gov.
28. "Unofficial 2012 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections.
29. (December 11, 2018). "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Representative in Congress: Congressional District 6". Maryland State Board of Elections.
30. "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress".
31. "Official 2024 Presidential General Election Results for Representative in Congress". Maryland State Board of Elections.