Hogan, who entered the race hours before the filing deadline, quickly emerged as the Republican frontrunner and won his party's nomination with 64% of the vote against former state delegate Robin Ficker.

Despite Maryland's status as a reliably Democratic state, the election was considered more competitive than usual due to Hogan's popularity, reputation as a moderate Republican, and opposition to Donald Trump.

[4] Alsobrooks was still considered the favorite to win, due to Maryland's heavy Democratic lean and the concurrent presidential election.

[5] Hogan was the strongest nominee of either party in the 2024 cycle, running 17 points ahead of Trump and was one of several Republican Senate overperformances.

[6] He flipped two counties won by Kamala Harris in the presidential contest—Anne Arundel and Frederick; and became the first Republican to exceed one million votes in a Maryland Senate election.

[16][17] Several potential candidates, including Angela Alsobrooks and David Trone, began hiring campaign advisers in anticipation of Cardin's possible retirement,[18] which he announced on May 1, 2023, ending a political career that spanned over 50 years.

[28] Upon former governor Larry Hogan's entry into the race, the Democratic primary largely transformed into a contest to determine which candidate had the best chance of defeating him, with candidates shifting from talking about their experience and leadership styles to talking about national issues—such as abortion, the U.S. Supreme Court, and Donald Trump—and criticizing Hogan's legislative record as governor.

[185] Retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general John Teichert was long viewed as the frontrunner[186] until Hogan's surprise entry into the race hours before the candidate filing deadline,[11][187] which prompted Teichert to withdraw from the race on February 16 and endorse Hogan, leaving him with only token opposition remaining in the primary.

[188] This comes two years after Hogan declined to run for U.S. Senate against Chris Van Hollen, and it was presumed that a 2024 presidential bid would be more likely for the former governor.

[215][216][217] Democrats also attempted to nationalize the race by reminding voters that a Hogan win could cause Republicans to take control of the U.S. Senate, thereby allowing them to block Kamala Harris's agenda and pass Donald Trump's policies.

[227][62] He also sought to bring attention to his achievements while governor, including his efforts to cut taxes and his handling of the 2015 Baltimore protests and the COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland.

[230] Mileah Kromer, a political scientist and pollster at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, estimated that 25–30% of registered Democrats voted for Hogan in past gubernatorial elections; polling conducted for the Senate election in late September 2024 showed Hogan receiving support from 14 percent of registered Democrats.

[231] In May 2024, Hogan posted on X (formerly Twitter) to say that Americans should "respect the verdict and the legal process," in reference to any decision made in the Donald Trump hush money trial.

Lara Trump said in an interview that "[Hogan] doesn't deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point, and quite frankly, anybody in America."

[239] Libertarian nominee Mike Scott also received support from the newly-established Save Western Culture super PAC, which campaigned against Hogan for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and recognizing Biden's victory in the 2020 United States presidential election.

[354] On August 20, the Alsobrooks and Hogan campaigns agreed to a single debate—hosted by MPT and local NBC affiliates, and moderated by Chuck Todd—which was held on October 10, 2024.