Incumbent Larry Hogan (R) defeated Ben Jealous (D), Shawn Quinn (L), and Ian Schlakman (G) in the general election for Governor of Maryland on November 6, 2018.

Out of the 10 preceding gubernatorial elections, eight were won by the Democratic candidate, with Republican candidates winning the 2002 and 2014 elections. Hogan was elected in 2014 by a 4-point margin over his Democratic opponent. The state had a Democratic trifecta for eight years before Hogan became governor, meaning Democrats controlled the governorship, state House, and state Senate.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won the state in the presidential election by 26 points. Democrats won Maryland in the five presidential elections before 2018, and Clinton's margin of victory was the widest.

As of September 2018, the race was rated Likely Republican by three ratings outlets.

The winner of this election stood to influence the state's redistricting process following the 2020 census. In Maryland, congressional district lines are adopted by the state legislature and may be vetoed by the governor.

Maryland was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.

Polls

Maryland governor 2018, Hogan v. Jealous

Poll	Ben Jealous	Larry Hogan	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
The Washington Post/University of Maryland October 4-7, 2018	38%	58%	5%	+/-4.5	648
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy September 24-26, 2018	37%	52%	9%	+/-4.0	625
Goucher College September 11-16, 2018	32%	54%	9%	+/-3.4	831
Gonzales Research & Media Services August 1-8, 2018	36%	52%	11%	+/-3.5	831
AVERAGES	35.75%	54%	8.5%	+/-3.85	733.75

A poll released on October 4, 2017, examined hypothetical matchups between sitting Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and four separate potential Democratic challengers. The Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey of 625 registered voters measured Hogan's possible electoral performance against Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker III, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, former NAACP President Ben Jealous, and state Sen. Rich Madaleno. Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Jealous - hypothetical matchup) Poll Ben Jealous Larry Hogan Undecided Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 31% 44% 23% +/-4.6 449 Gonzales Research & Media Services (December 27, 2017 - January 5, 2018) 36% 49% 15% +/-3.5 823 Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy (September 27-30, 2017) 33% 49% 18% +/-4.0 625 AVERAGES 33.33% 47.33% 18.67% +/-4.03 632.33 Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Baker - hypothetical matchup) Poll Rushern Baker III Larry Hogan Undecided Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 31% 44% 24% +/-4.6 449 Burton Research & Strategies (March 4-11, 2018) 29% 54% 15% +/-4 600 Gonzales Research & Media Services (December 27, 2017 - January 5, 2018) 37% 47% 16% +/-3.5 823 Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy (September 27-30, 2017) 39% 46% 15% +/-4.0 625 AVERAGES 34% 47.75% 17.5% +/-4.03 624.25 Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Kamenetz - hypothetical matchup) Poll Kevin Kamenetz Larry Hogan Undecided Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 28% 45% 24% +/-4.6 449 Burton Research & Strategies (March 4-11, 2018) 26% 57% 15% +/-4 600 Gonzales Research & Media Services (December 27, 2017 - January 5, 2018) 34% 48% 18% +/-3.5 823 Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy (September 27-30, 2017) 35% 48% 17% +/-4.0 625 AVERAGES 30.75% 49.5% 18.5% +/-4.03 624.25 Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Madaleno - hypothetical matchup) Poll Rich Madaleno Larry Hogan Undecided Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 27% 45% 27% +/-4.6 449 Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy (September 27-30, 2017) 30% 49% 21% +/-4.0 625 AVERAGES 28.5% 47% 24% +/-4.3 537 Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Ross - hypothetical matchup) Poll Alec Ross Larry Hogan Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 26% 46% 27% +/-4.6 449 Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Shea - hypothetical matchup) Poll Jim Shea Larry Hogan Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 27% 47% 26% +/-4.6 449 Maryland governor's race (Hogan vs. Vignarajah - hypothetical matchup) Poll Krishanti Vignarajah Larry Hogan Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size Goucher College (April 14-19, 2018) 25% 45% 28% +/-4.6 449 Race ratings The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage. Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state. Race ratings: Maryland gubernatorial election, 2018 Race tracker Race ratings November 5, 2018 October 30, 2018 October 23, 2018 October 16, 2018 The Cook Political Report Likely Republican Likely Republican Likely Republican Likely Republican Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales Likely Republican Likely Republican Likely Republican Likely Republican Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball Likely Republican Likely Republican Safe Republican Safe Republican Election history 2014 Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes Republican Larry Hogan/Boyd Rutherford 51% 884,400 Democratic Anthony Brown/Ken Ulman 47.2% 818,890 Libertarian Shawn Quinn/Lorenzo Gaztanaga 1.5% 25,382 Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 4,505 Total Votes 1,733,177 Election results via Maryland State Board of Elections 2010 Maryland Gubernatorial/Lieutenant Gubernatorial General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes Democratic Martin O'Malley/Anthony G. Brown Incumbent 56.2% 1,044,961 Republican Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr./Mary Kane 41.8% 776,319 Libertarian Susan J. Gaztanaga/Doug McNeil 0.8% 14,137 Green Maria Allwine/Ken Eidel 0.6% 11,825 Constitution Eric Delano Knowles/Michael T. Hargadon 0.5% 8,612 Democratic Ralph Jaffe (Write-In) 0% 319 Unaffiliated Corrogan R. Vaughan/Jim Crawford 0% 179 Other Write-Ins Various 0.1% 1,528 Total Votes 1,857,880 Election results via Maryland State Board of Elections Demographics Demographic data for Maryland Maryland U.S. Total population: 5,994,983 316,515,021 Land area (sq mi): 9,707 3,531,905 Gender Female: 51.6% 50.8% Race and ethnicity** White: 57.6% 73.6% Black/African American: 29.5% 12.6% Asian: 6% 5.1% Native American: 0.3% 0.8% Pacific Islander: 0% 0.2% Two or more: 3% 3% Hispanic/Latino: 9% 17.1% Education High school graduation rate: 89.4% 86.7% College graduation rate: 37.9% 29.8% Income Median household income: $74,551 $53,889 Persons below poverty level: 10.7% 11.3% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Maryland. As of July 2016, Maryland's three largest cities were Baltimore (pop. est. 611,648), Columbia (pop. est. 103,439), and Germantown (pop. est. 90,494).