| State: | Maryland |
| District Number: | 3 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | John Sarbanes |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Baltimore |
| English Area: | 292.74 |
| Percent Urban: | 98.7 |
| Percent Rural: | 1.3 |
| Population: | 777,611 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $119,418[1] |
| Percent White: | 57.0 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 9.0 |
| Percent Black: | 17.2 |
| Percent Asian: | 10.9 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 5.1 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.8 |
| Percent Blue Collar: | 15.7 |
| Percent White Collar: | 71.7 |
| Percent Gray Collar: | 12.5 |
| Cpvi: | D+10[2] |
Maryland's 3rd congressional district covers all of Howard county as well as parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. The seat is currently represented by John Sarbanes, a Democrat.
Three people who represented Maryland in the United States Senate were also former representatives of the 3rd district, including Ben Cardin, Barbara Mikulski, and Paul Sarbanes.
The district's previously odd shape was attributed to gerrymandering to favor Democratic candidates, following the 2000[3] and 2010[4] censuses. In 2012, the district was found to be the third least compact congressional district in the United States,[5] and in 2014, The Washington Post called it the nation's second-most gerrymandered district.[6] John Sarbanes, the current Democratic Representative for the district, put forth the For the People Act of 2019 to address electoral reform, voting rights, and gerrymandering in the United States.[7] [8] Following the 2020 redistricting cycle, it now includes Howard County, most of Anne Arundel County including Glen Burnie and Annapolis, and part of Carroll County, specifically the areas around Mount Airy, and its incumbent representative John Sarbanes no longer lives in the district.
| Year | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Gore 55% – 41% | |
| 2004 | Kerry 54% – 45% | |
| 2008 | Obama 59% – 39% | |
| 2012 | Obama 60% – 37% | |
| 2016 | Clinton 62% – 32% | |
| 2020 | Biden 69% – 29% |
Maryland's 3rd district was one of the 61 districts that elected a representative to the 1st United States Congress. It also has the distinction of being one of the few congressional districts that once included areas not currently in the state they are in. The 3rd congressional district originally was composed of Prince George's County, Maryland and Anne Arundel County, Maryland.[9] At that point, what is now Howard County, Maryland, was in Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County included the eastern half of the District of Columbia.
In 1792, the Maryland 3rd Congressional District was moved to include Montgomery County, Maryland, and the eastern half of Frederick County, Maryland. The population was about 33,000.[10] However, the western portion of what is today Carroll County, Maryland was at this point in Frederick County, and the western half of the District of Columbia was in Montgomery County. This latter fact explains why the district lost population, even though it, in theory, did not experience redistricting after the 1800 census. With the population of Georgetown, D. C., no longer in the district, its 1800 population was about 31,000.[11] At this point, the 3rd was Maryland's least populous district, barely having half the population of the Baltimore City and County 5th district, which, in 1800, had just above 59,000 inhabitants.[12]
The boundaries remained the same after the 1810, 1820, and 1830 censuses. While, in 1820, the district had about 36,000 inhabitants, its population had risen to 53,622 in 1830.[13] With the formation of Carroll County in the 1830s, as well as Maryland falling from 8 to 6 congressional seats, the boundaries of the 3rd Congressional District were drastically redrawn. The only area that remained in the 3rd Congressional District was the part of Carroll County that had been in Frederick County. The 3rd also included Baltimore County and the western half of the city of Baltimore. Its new population was 69,923, 24.5% of whom were black.[14]
In 1853, the 3rd district was redrawn again. The new district consisted of Baltimore County, except for the northern and western parts of the county and about the eastern third of the City of Baltimore. The district now had a population of 95,729.[15] In the redistricting following the 1860 census, Maryland was reduced to five congressional districts. The 3rd was moved so that it contained the part of Baltimore that had not been in the 3rd before 1863. It now had a population of 130,040.[16] In 1873, the 3rd district was moved again, to be the east side of Baltimore. It now had a population of 120,978.[17]
Since 2023, the following communities are located within the 3rd district.[18]
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1789 | ||||||||
| align=left | Benjamin Contee | Anti-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791 | Elected in 1789. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William Pinkney | Pro-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1791 – November 9, 1791 | Elected in 1790. Resigned due to questions of ineligibility. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | November 9, 1791 – February 5, 1792 | ||||||
| align=left | John Francis Mercer | Anti-Administration | nowrap | February 5, 1792 – March 3, 1793 | Elected October 26–29, 1791 to finish Pinkney's term. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | Uriah Forrest | Pro-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1793 – November 8, 1794 | Elected in 1792. Re-elected in 1794. Resigned. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | November 8, 1794 – January 2, 1795 | ||||||
| align=left | Benjamin Edwards | Pro-Administration | nowrap | January 2, 1795 – March 3, 1795 | Elected to finish Forrest's term. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Jeremiah Crabb | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1795 – June 1, 1796 | Elected in 1794. Resigned. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | June 1, 1796 – December 5, 1796 | ||||||
| align=left | William Craik | Federalist | nowrap | December 5, 1796 – March 3, 1801 | Elected October 3, 1796 to finish Crabb's term. Also elected the same day to the next term. Re-elected in 1798. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Thomas Plater | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1805 | Elected in 1801. Re-elected in 1803. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Patrick Magruder | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1807 | Elected in 1804. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Philip Barton Key | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813 | Elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Alexander Contee Hanson | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1813 – 1816 | Elected in 1812. Re-elected in 1814. Resigned when elected U.S. Senator. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | 1816 – October 7, 1816 | ||||||
| align=left | George Peter | Federalist | nowrap | October 7, 1816 – March 3, 1819 | Elected to finish Hanson's term. Also elected to the next term in 1816. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Henry Ridgely Warfield | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1825 | Elected in 1818. Re-elected in 1820. Re-elected in 1822. Retired. | |||
| align=left | George Peter | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 | Elected in 1824. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | George Corbin Washington | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1833 | Elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1829. Re-elected in 1831. | |||
| align=left | James Turner | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837 | Elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1835. | |||
| align=left | John Tolley Hood Worthington | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841 | Elected in 1837. Re-elected in 1839. | |||
| align=left | James Wray Williams | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1841 – December 2, 1842 | Elected in 1841. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 2, 1842 – January 2, 1843 | ||||||
| align=left | Charles S. Sewall | Democratic | nowrap | January 2, 1843 – March 3, 1843 | Elected to finish Williams's term. | |||
| align=left | John Wethered | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845 | Elected late in 1844. | |||
| align=left | Thomas Watkins Ligon | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849 | Elected in 1845. Re-elected in 1847. | |||
| align=left | Edward Hammond | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853 | Elected in 1849. Re-elected in 1851. | |||
| align=left | Joshua Van Sant | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | Elected in 1853. | |||
| align=left | James Morrison Harris | Know Nothing | nowrap | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861 | Elected in 1855. Re-elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. | |||
| align=left | Cornelius Leary | Union | nowrap | March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863 | Elected in 1861. | |||
| align=left | Henry Winter Davis | Unconditional Union | nowrap | March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865 | Elected in 1863. | |||
| nowrap rowspan=2 align=left | Charles Edward Phelps | Unconditional Union | nowrap | March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867 | Elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. | |||
| Conservative | nowrap | March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869 | ||||||
| align=left | Thomas Swann | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873 | Elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | William James O'Brien | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877 | Elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. | |||
| align=left | William Kimmel | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881 | Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. | |||
| align=left | Fetter Schrier Hoblitzell | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1885 | Elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. | |||
| align=left | William Hinson Cole | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1885 – July 8, 1886 | Elected in 1884. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | July 8, 1886 – November 2, 1886 | ||||||
| align=left | Harry Welles Rusk | Democratic | nowrap | November 2, 1886 – March 3, 1897 | Elected to finish Cole's term. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. | |||
| align=left | William Samuel Booze | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899 | Elected in 1896. | |||
| align=left | Frank Charles Wachter | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1907 | Elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. | |||
| align=left | Harry Benjamin Wolf | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1909 | Elected in 1906. | |||
| align=left | John Kronmiller | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1911 | Elected in 1908. | |||
| align=left | George Konig | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1911 – May 31, 1913 | Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | May 31, 1913 – November 4, 1913 | ||||||
| align=left | Charles Pearce Coady | Democratic | nowrap | November 4, 1913 – March 3, 1921 | Elected to finish Konig's term. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. | |||
| align=left | John B.P.C. Hill | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1927 | Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. | |||
| align=left | Vincent L. Palmisano | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1927 – January 3, 1939 | Elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. | |||
| align=left | Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1939 – May 16, 1947 | Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Resigned to become Mayor of Baltimore. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | May 16, 1947 – July 15, 1947 | ||||||
| align=left | Edward Garmatz | Democratic | nowrap | July 15, 1947 – January 3, 1973 | Elected to finish D'Alesandro Jr.'s term. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. | |||
| align=left | Paul Sarbanes | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | 1973–1983 | ||
Barbara Mikulski | Democratic | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1987 | Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
Ben Cardin | Democratic | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2007 | 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. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |||||
| 1993–2003 | ||||||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
John Sarbanes | Democratic | January 3, 2007 – present | Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Retiring at end of term. | |||||
| 2013–2023 | ||||||||
| 2023–present | ||||||||