Maryland was won by incumbent PresidentJimmy Carter (D-Georgia), with 47.12% of the popular vote, over formerGovernorRonald Reagan (R-California) with 44.18% of the popular vote andRepublicanUS RepresentativeJohn B. Anderson running as an independent candidate (I-Illinois) with 7.76% of the popular vote.[2] Reagan ultimately won the national vote, defeating Carter; Maryland was one of only six states, along with the District of Columbia, to back the embattled incumbent.[3]
On election night, several news outlets incorrectly called the state for Reagan. In a similar vein, many of the same news outlets also calledMassachusetts for President Carter, despite the fact that Reagan would ultimately end up narrowly winning Massachusetts.
In this election, Maryland voted 12.7% to the left of the nation at-large, or an 8.69 percent bigger differential than in 1976.[4] As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last presidential election where the Democratic candidate won Maryland without carrying suburbanBaltimore County,Howard County, orMontgomery County. This election marked the first time since1908 in whichPrince George’s County did not vote for the winner of the presidential election.[5] This is one of three elections between 1888 and 2000, that the state voted for the national loser (along with 1948 and 1968).
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