Maryland Legislative District 8

Maryland's legislative district 8
Maryland's legislative district 8
Represents; part of Baltimore County
Senator	Carl W. Jackson (D)
Delegate(s)	Nick Allen (D); Harry Bhandari (D); Kim Ross (D);
Registration	53.3% Democratic ; 26.5% Republican ; 18.6% unaffiliated;
Demographics	51.8% White ; 30.3% Black/African American ; 0.3% Native American ; 8.5% Asian ; 0.0% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ; 3.1% Other race; 5.9% Two or more races; 6.0% Hispanic ;
Population (2020)	128,063
Voting-age population	100,573
Registered voters	85,483

Last updated March 04, 2025

Maryland's Legislative District 8 is one of 47 districts in the state for the Maryland General Assembly. The district currently consists of part of Baltimore County, Maryland.^[1] The district includes the communities of Carney, Overlea, Parkville, Perry Hall, Rosedale, Rossville, Towson, and White Marsh. The District was established in 1975. The district also represented a small portion of Northeast Baltimore City, Maryland from 1995 to 2002.^[2]

Demographic characteristics

As of the 2020 United States census, the district had a population of 128,063, of whom 100,573 (78.5%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 66,336 (51.8%) White, 38,866 (30.3%) African American, 419 (0.3%) Native American, 10,891 (8.5%) Asian, 25 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 3,920 (3.1%) from some other race, and 7,584 (5.9%) from two or more races.^[3]^[4] Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7,625 (6.0%) of the population.^[5]

The district had 85,483 registered voters as of October 17, 2020, of whom 15,859 (18.6%) were registered as unaffiliated, 22,639 (26.5%) were registered as Republicans, 45,541 (53.3%) were registered as Democrats, and 889 (1.0%) were registered to other parties.^[6]

Political representation

The district is represented for the 2023–2027 legislative term in the State Senate by Carl W. Jackson (D). It is represented by the House of Delegates by Nick Allen (D), Harry Bhandari (D), and Kim Ross (D).^[7]^[8]

Election history

Thomas L. Bromwell resigned from the Senate in 2002 to head the Maryland Injured Workers' Insurance Fund or IWIF, a state agency.^[9] Governor Parris Glendening appointed John R. Schneider to replace Bromwell in District 8.^[10] Schneider died only two months after his appointment, and Governor Glendening then appointed Joseph T. Ferraracci to the seat.^[10] However, Ferraracci did not run for election in 2002. Neither Schneider or Ferraracci served in the legislature during session. Kathy Klausmeier ran for the seat as a Democrat and won.^[11]

John W. E. Cluster Jr. was appointed as Delegate by Governor Bob Ehrlich in 2003 to replace Republican Alfred W. Redmer Jr., who was named Maryland Insurance Commissioner.

Joe Cluster was appointed by Governor Larry Hogan in 2016 to fill the vacancy of former Delegate John Cluster, his father, who resigned to serve on the Maryland Parole Commission.^[12]

Carl W. Jackson was appointed by Governor Larry Hogan in 2019 to fill the vacancy of former Delegate Eric M. Bromwell, who resigned to serve as Baltimore County Opioid Strategy Coordinator.^[13]

Session	Senate	Delegates
1975	Roy N. Staten (D)	John S. Arnick (D)	Daniel J. Minnick, Jr. (D)	Patrick T. Welsh (D)
1976
1977
1978
1979	Patrick T. Welsh (D)	Louis L. DePazzo (D)		Robert R. Staab (D)
1980
1981
1982
1983	Thomas L. Bromwell (D)^{[n 1]}	Dale Anderson (D)	Joseph Bartenfelder (D)	William J. Burgess (D)
1984
1985
1986
1987		Donna M. Felling (D)
1988
1989
1990
1991		James F. Ports, Jr. (R)		Alfred W. Redmer, Jr. (R)^{[n 2]}
1992
1993
1994
1995			Kathy Klausmeier (D)
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003	Kathy Klausmeier (D)	Joseph C. Boteler (R)	Eric M. Bromwell (D)^{[n 3]}	John W. E. Cluster Jr. (R)^{[n 4]}
2004
2005
2006
2007				Todd Schuler (D)
2008
2009
2010
2011				John W. E. Cluster Jr. (R)^{[n 5]}
2012
2013
2014
2015		Christian Miele (R)
2016
2017				Joe Cluster (R)^{[n 6]}
2018				Joe Cluster (R)^{[n 6]}
2019		Harry Bhandari (D)		Joseph C. Boteler (R)
2020			Carl W. Jackson (D)^{[n 7]}
2021
2022
2023				Nick Allen (D)
2024				Nick Allen (D)

↑ Resigned in 2002.
↑ Left role in 2003 to serve as Maryland Insurance Commissioner.
↑ Resigned in 2019 to become the Baltimore County Opioid Strategy Coordinator.
↑ Appointed by Governor Ehrlich to replace Redmer.
↑ Resigned in 2016 to serve on the Maryland Parole Board.
↑ Appointed by Governor Hogan to replace his father, John W. E. Cluster Jr.
↑ Appointed by Governor Hogan to replace Bromwell.

State Senate election results

2018 General Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[14]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier	24,332	51.1%	Won
Christian Miele	23,271	48.8%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	45	0.1%	Lost

2018 Democratic Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[15]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier	8,495	87.7%	Won
Max Davidson	1,195	12.3%	Lost

2018 Republican Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[15]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Christian Miele	5,486	100.0%	Won

2014 General Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[16]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier, Dem.	23,638	61.2%	Won
Erik Lofstad, Rep.	14,938	38.7%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	37	0.1%	Lost

2014 Democratic Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[17]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier	8,016	81.7%	Won
John Bishop	1,800	18.3%	Lost

2014 Republican Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[17]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Erik Lofstad	3,565	100.0%	Won

2010 General Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[18]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier, Dem.	25,155	59.7%	Won
Dee Hodges, Rep.	16,968	40.2%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	41	0.1%	Lost

2010 Democratic Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[19]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier	9,273	100.0%	Won

2010 Republican Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[19]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Dee Hodges	4,155	71.8%	Won
Benjamin Lawless	1,633	28.2%	Lost

2006 General Election for State Senate - District 8^[20]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier, Dem.	24,299	58.2%	Won
Craig Borne, Rep.	17,401	41.7%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	37	0.1%	Lost

2006 Democratic Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[21]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier	10,501	100.0%	Won

2006 Republican Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[21]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Craig Borne	3,083	68.1%	Won
Cal Clemons	1,444	31.9%	Lost

2002 General Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier, Dem.	24,590	58.5%	Won
John W. E. Cluster Jr., Rep.	17,426	41.4%	Lost
Other Write-Ins	55	0.1%	Lost

2002 Democratic Primary Election for Maryland House of Delegates - District 8^[22]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Kathy Klausmeier	10,463	85.2%	Won
Raymond C. Shiflet	1,815	14.8%	Lost

2002 Republican Primary for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[22]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
John W. E. Cluster Jr.	5,209	100.0%	Won

1998 General Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[23]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Thomas L. Bromwell, Dem.	22,837	68%	Won
William Rush, Rep.	10,954	32%	Lost

1998 Democratic Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[24]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
Thomas L. Bromwell	7,585	100%	Won

1998 Republican Primary Election for Maryland State Senate - District 8^[24]

Voters to choose one:

Name	Votes	Percent	Outcome
William Rush	3,483	100%	Won