U.S. House district for Maryland
Maryland's 8th congressional district Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative Area 297.06 sq mi (769.4 km2 ) Distribution Population (2023) 771,551 Median household income $132,789[ 1] Ethnicity Cook PVI D+29[ 2]
Maryland's 8th congressional district is concentrated almost entirely in Montgomery County , with a small portion in Prince George's County .[ 3] Adjacent to Washington, D.C. , the 8th district takes in many of the city’s wealthiest inner-ring suburbs, including Bethesda , Chevy Chase , and Potomac . It also includes several more economically and racially diverse communities, the most populous of which are Rockville and Silver Spring .
With a median household income of $120,948, it is the ninth-wealthiest congressional district in the nation. The 8th district also has the eighth-highest share of residents with at least a bachelor's degree , at 63.9%. Those above-average numbers are largely due to the substantial presence of the federal government in nearby Washington, where thousands of the 8th district’s residents commute to work on a daily basis. Several federal agencies are likewise located within the 8th district, including the Food and Drug Administration , the National Institutes of Health , the Nuclear Regulatory Commission , and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center . Two Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the district: Lockheed Martin and Marriott International .[ 4] Almost 40% of the district's residents are immigrants, with the largest numbers coming from El Salvador , Ethiopia , India , China , Korea , Guatemala , and Peru . The district includes the Little Ethiopia area of Silver Spring and Takoma Park, and has the largest Ethiopian American population of any congressional district.[ 5]
Politically, the district is heavily liberal. It has consistently sent Democratic representatives to Congress by wide margins since 2002. In 2020, Joe Biden won nearly 80% of its vote. Democrat Jamie Raskin has represented the seat since 2017.
The district was created after the 1790 census in time for the 1792 election , was abolished after the 1830 census , and was reinstated after the 1960 census .
During redistricting after the 2000 census , the Democratic-dominated Maryland legislature sought to unseat then-incumbent Republican Connie Morella [citation needed ] . One proposal went so far as to divide the district in two, effectively giving one to state Senator Christopher Van Hollen, Jr. and forcing Morella to run against popular Maryland State Delegate and Kennedy political family member Mark Kennedy Shriver [citation needed ] . The final redistricting plan was less ambitious, restoring an eastern, heavily Democratic spur of Montgomery County removed in the 1990 redistricting to the 8th District[citation needed ] (encompassing nearly all of the area "inside the Beltway"), as well as adding an adjacent portion from heavily Democratic Prince George's County . Although it forced Van Hollen and Shriver to run against each other in an expensive primary, the shift still made the district even more Democratic than its predecessor, and Van Hollen defeated Morella in 2002 .
From 2003 to 2013 the district, in addition to the larger part of Montgomery County and the small portion of Prince George's County, included most of Frederick County (but not the City of Frederick), and southern Carroll County . The redrawn district was slightly less Democratic than its predecessor. While the Carroll and Frederick portions of the district tilted strongly Republican, the Montgomery County portion had twice as many people as the rest of the district combined, and Montgomery's Democratic tilt was enough to keep the district in the Democratic column. Since Morella left office, no Republican has crossed the 40 percent mark in the 8th District.
Cities of 10,000 or more people[ edit ] Silver Spring – 81,015 Bethesda – 68,056 Rockville – 67,117 Wheaton – 52,150 Aspen Hill – 51,063 North Bethesda – 50,094 Potomac – 47,018 Olney – 35,820 Montgomery Village – 34,893 Fairland – 25,396 North Potomac – 23,790 Redland – 18,592 Takoma Park – 17,629 Calverton – 17,316 Damascus – 17,224 Glenmont – 16,710 White Oak – 16,347 Colesville – 15,421 Cloverly – 15,285 Flower Hill – 14,108 Kemp Mill – 13,378 Travilah – 11,985 Chevy Chase – 10,176 2,500 – 10,000 people[ edit ] North Kensington – 9,497 Leisure World – 9,215 South Kensington – 8,829 Four Corners – 8,316 Forest Glen – 6,897 Darnestown – 6,723 Hillandale – 5,774 Layhill – 5,764 Ashton-Sandy Spring – 5,746 Friendship Heights Village – 5,360 Brookmont – 3,751 Burnt Mills – 3,592 Town of Chevy Chase – 2,904 Derwood – 2,535 Recent statewide election results [ edit ] List of members representing the district [ edit ] # Member Party Years Con- gress Electoral history District location District created March 4, 1793 1 William Vans Murray (Cambridge ) Pro-Administration March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 3rd 4th Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1792 .Re-elected in 1794 . Retired. 1793–1803 [data missing ] Federalist March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797 2 John Dennis (Somerset County ) Federalist March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1805 5th 6th 7th 8th Elected in 1796 .Re-elected in 1798 .Re-elected in 1801 .Re-elected in 1803 . Retired. 1803–1813 [data missing ] 3 Charles Goldsborough (Cambridge ) Federalist March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1817 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th Elected in 1804 .Re-elected in 1806 .Re-elected in 1808 .Re-elected in 1810 .Re-elected in 1812 .Re-elected in 1814 . Retired. 1813–1823 [data missing ] 4 Thomas Bayly (Princess Anne ) Federalist March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823 15th 16th 17th Elected in 1816 .Re-elected in 1818 .Re-elected in 1820 . Retired. 5 John S. Spence (Poplartown ) Democratic-Republican [ a] March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 18th Elected in 1822 . Lost re-election. 1823–1833 [data missing ] 6 Robert N. Martin (Princess Anne ) Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 19th Elected in 1824 . Retired. 7 Ephraim King Wilson (Snow Hill ) Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829 20th 21st Re-elected in 1826 .Re-elected in 1829 . Retired. Jackson March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831 8 John S. Spence (Berlin ) Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 22nd Elected in 1831 .[data missing ] 9 John T. Stoddert (Harris Lot ) Jackson March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835 23rd Elected in 1833 . Retired. 1833–1835 [data missing ] Seat eliminated March 4, 1835 Seat re-created January 3, 1967 10 Gilbert Gude (Bethesda ) Republican January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1977 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th Elected in 1966 .Re-elected in 1968 .Re-elected in 1970 .Re-elected in 1972 .Re-elected in 1974 . Retired. 1967–1973 Montgomery 1973–1983 Montgomery 11 Newton Steers (Bethesda ) Republican January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979 95th Elected in 1976 . Lost re-election. 12 Michael D. Barnes (Kensington ) Democratic January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987 96th 97th 98th 99th Elected in 1978 .Re-elected in 1980 .Re-elected in 1982 .Re-elected in 1984 . Retired to run for U.S. Senator . 1983–1993 Montgomery 13 Connie Morella (Bethesda ) Republican January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2003 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th Elected in 1986 .Re-elected in 1988 .Re-elected in 1990 .Re-elected in 1992 .Re-elected in 1994 .Re-elected in 1996 .Re-elected in 1998 .Re-elected in 2000 . Lost re-election after redistricting. 1993–2003 Montgomery 14 Chris Van Hollen (Kensington ) Democratic January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th Elected in 2002 .Re-elected in 2004 .Re-elected in 2006 .Re-elected in 2008 .Re-elected in 2010 .Re-elected in 2012 .Re-elected in 2014 . Retired to run for U.S. Senator . 2003–2013 Montgomery , Prince George's 2013–2023 Montgomery , Frederick , Carroll 15 Jamie Raskin (Takoma Park ) Democratic January 3, 2017 – present 115th 116th 117th 118th Elected in 2016 .Re-elected in 2018 .Re-elected in 2020 .Re-elected in 2022 .Re-elected in 2024 . 2023–present Montgomery
^ "My Congressional District" . ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List" . The Cook Political Report . July 12, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022 . ^ "Congressional District Maps" . Prince George's County . Retrieved May 2, 2024 . ^ "Visualize the Fortune 500" . Fortune . Retrieved May 17, 2023 . ^ "The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States - Statistical Atlas" . statisticalatlas.com . Retrieved January 14, 2024 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (March 31, 1967). "Statistics of the Contressional Election of November 8, 1966" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office . Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (July 1, 1969). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1968" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 1, 1971). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1970" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (March 15, 1973). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 1972" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (August 1, 1975). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1974" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 15, 1977). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 1976" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 1, 1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 15, 1981). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 1980" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 5, 1983). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 1982" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 1, 1985). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1984" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 29, 1987). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1986" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 20, 1989). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (April 29, 1991). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 31, 1993). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1992" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 12, 1995). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (July 29, 1997). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (January 3, 1999). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 21, 2001). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 7, 2000" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (May 1, 2003). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 7, 2005). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (September 21, 2007). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (July 10, 2009). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ Clerk of the House of Representatives (February 28, 2013). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012" (PDF) . U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Representative in Congress" . Maryland State Board of Elections. December 2, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ "Official 2016 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress" . Maryland State Board of Elections. December 9, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2017 . ^ "Official 2020 Presidential General Election results for Representative in Congress" . Maryland State Board of Elections . Retrieved December 14, 2020 .
39°06′N 77°15′W / 39.1°N 77.25°W / 39.1; -77.25