The Maryland Green Party has secured ballot access through the 2028 election cycle following a notably strong showing by its gubernatorial nominee, Andy Ellis, who earned more than 2 percent of the vote and set a new record for the state party.
In a post-election announcement published Monday, November 9, Ellis said he accomplished his campaign’s core goal of preserving the Maryland Green Party’s recognized status without requiring the organization to conduct another petition drive. Ellis, who sits on the party’s Coordinating Council, ran alongside Owen Silverman Andrews as his running mate.
According to unofficial results from the Maryland State Board of Elections as of Thursday afternoon, Ellis received 44,733 votes for 2.11 percent of the total, finishing third behind incumbent Democratic Governor Wes Moore and Republican challenger Dan Cox. He also finished ahead of the Working Class Party’s Cathy White, who received 40,810 votes for 1.93 percent of the total.
Under Maryland law, a recognized political party can retain its status through the end of the next general election year if its nominee for the highest statewide office receives at least one percent of the vote—in this case, the race for governor. Ellis’ showing is the first time a Maryland Green Party gubernatorial candidate has cleared that minimum.
Prior to Ellis, the state Green Party’s best showing for governor was when Ed Boyd, its 2006 nominee, earned 15,551 votes for 0.9 percent. Ellis also said his performance set a record for Maryland third parties more generally, receiving more votes than any third party gubernatorial nominee since the Civil War and earning the highest percentage of the vote since the 1899 election cycle.
State historical archives confirm that Ellis earned more raw votes than any other third party gubernatorial nominee since the Civil War. His percentage of the vote also narrowly surpasses the 1899 showing of Prohibition Party nominee James Swann, who earned far fewer votes, but received roughly 2.10 percent of the total. Whether Ellis retains that distinction depends on any outstanding votes.
In addition to celebrating his own success, Ellis also congratulated White and the Working Class Party on their results, which similarly satisfied the threshold necessary to preserve recognized status through the next election cycle. The Working Class Party’s first gubernatorial nominee, David Harding, ran alongside White in 2022, earning 17,154 votes but falling short of the 1 percent minimum.
“Two independent left campaigns both put up record numbers in the same race,” Ellis said, referencing both his and White’s results. “That tells you something about where Maryland voters are, and it’s what a multiparty democracy starts to look like.”
Ellis said his campaign would share additional information about its plans for the future as the results are finalized. The Maryland State Board of Canvassers is scheduled to certify the statewide results by December 3.
Editorial note: As these results are still being tabulated, they are subject to change. Specific figures may differ from those originally reported in this article at the time of its publication on Substack. Independent Political Report did not include independent candidate Hyman Pressman in its historical comparison of third party gubernatorial nominees. Pressman received 90,899 votes in Maryland’s 1966 gubernatorial election but ran as an independent rather than a party nominee.
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