| State: | Maryland |
| District Number: | 8 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Jamie Raskin |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Takoma Park |
| English Area: | 297.06 |
| Percent Urban: | 88.08 |
| Percent Rural: | 11.92 |
| Population: | 755,348 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $123,494[1] |
| Percent White: | 44.3 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 19.7 |
| Percent Black: | 16.3 |
| Percent Asian: | 14.0 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 4.7 |
| Percent Other Race: | 1.0 |
| Cpvi: | 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. 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. 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 (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.
Since 2023, the following communities are located within the 8th district.[6]
| Year | Office | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Gore 60% - 36% | |
| 2004 | President | Kerry 69% - 30% | |
| 2008 | President | Obama 73% - 24% | |
| 2012 | President | Obama 61% - 36% | |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 64% - 31% | |
| 2020 | President | Biden 69% - 28% |
| Member | Party | Years | Con- gress | Electoral history | District location | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1793 | |||||||||
| 1 | William Vans Murray | Pro-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1792. Re-elected in 1794. Retired. | 1793–1803 | |||
| Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797 | |||||||
| 2 | John Dennis | Federalist | March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1805 | Elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Re-elected in 1801. Re-elected in 1803. Retired. | |||||
| 1803–1813 | |||||||||
| 3 | Charles Goldsborough | Federalist | March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1817 | 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 | |||||||||
| 4 | align=left | Thomas Bayly | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823 | Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Re-elected in 1820. Retired. | |||
| 5 | align=left | John S. Spence | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 | Elected in 1822. Lost re-election. | 1823–1833 | ||
| 6 | align=left | Robert N. Martin | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 | Elected in 1824. Retired. | |||
| 7 | Ephraim King Wilson | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829 | Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1829. Retired. | ||||
| Jackson | nowrap | March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831 | |||||||
| 8 | align=left | John S. Spence | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 | Elected in 1831. | |||
| 9 | align=left | John T. Stoddert | Jackson | nowrap | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835 | Elected in 1833. Retired. | 1833–1835 | ||
| Seat eliminated March 4, 1835 | |||||||||
| Seat re-created January 3, 1967 | |||||||||
| 10 | Gilbert Gude | Republican | January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1977 | 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 | align=left | Newton Steers | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979 | Elected in 1976. Lost re-election. | |||
| 12 | Michael D. Barnes | Democratic | January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987 | 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 | Republican | January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2003 | 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 | Democratic | January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017 | 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 | Democratic | January 3, 2017 – present | Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–present Montgomery | |||||||||