University of Maryland College of Journalism Publishes Primary Voter Guide

COLLEGE PARK — To ensure Maryland citizens are informed about their state legislative options in the June primary elections, the Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism published its 2026 General Assembly voter guide.

The Local News Network (@LNNMaryland on Twitter/X) — in partnership with the college’s Capital News Service and the university’s Maryland Democracy Initiative — sent questionnaires to all 235 General Assembly candidates who face a competitive primary, and 141 responded. Student journalists also did background checks on all the candidates. 

Candidate responses were published in an online database organized by primary race, and were edited only for grammar and style. Click here to review the voter guide.

The database is paired with several stories on findings from the responses and background checks. The topics include candidates’ perspectives on President Donald Trump, the state’s budget problems, housing affordability, data center development and a state ban on entering agreements with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Click here to read the stories.

“We developed this primary voter guide because we know that many General Assembly districts are either very Democratic or very Republican — meaning the primary is the real contest for a four-year term in Annapolis,” LNN Director Jerry Zremski said. “We also know that there are so many candidates and so many races that it can be hard for voters to keep up. We hope our voter guide will help them.”

The Local News Network will also publish a voter guide for all the General Assembly elections this fall, along with a voter guide for all the state’s school board elections.

The primary voter guide was produced by a team of 120 student journalists and 10 faculty members at Merrill College.

Information from the voter guide is available for publication free of charge to any news outlet in Maryland. For more information, contact Zremski at jzremski@umd.edu.

Key findings from the reporting:

>> General Assembly candidates are divided across party lines on how to address the state’s fiscal problems.

>> Democratic candidates are battling over who will work hardest to combat Trump’s policies that have negatively impacted Maryland, and Republican candidates kept the focus on state over federal issues — while steering clear of even mentioning Trump’s name.

>> Candidates agree more about the severity of the housing affordability crisis in Maryland than on how to solve the problem.

>> There’s bipartisan support in Maryland for regulations on data center development.

>> Candidates are divided along party lines about how Maryland should respond to ICE.

More stories:

>> In Baltimore County’s District 6, Republican General Assembly candidates battle – in court

>> Youthful Hagerstown General Assembly candidate charged with assaulting ‘No Kings’ counter-protester

>> Bobby ‘Al Jolson’ Berger performed in blackface for years – and now he’s running for office

>> Maryland candidates back Moore’s biotech and quantum push, but question who it reaches

About the Local News Network

The Local News Network was established by an anchor commitment from the Andy and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund. The network includes a local news collaborative and an internship program.

The local news collaborative teams Merrill College with news media in Maryland, providing local coverage experience for students while offering supplemental reporting for news organizations in Maryland. 

The local news internship program offers stipends for select students each summer to intern at a news outlet whose coverage and audience is predominantly local.