Emerging from a polling place on Baltimore’s Eastside, George Jenkins summed up the votes he cast in today’s 2026 General Election this way as straightforward, but not very satisfying.

“There’s no competition!” the 75-year-old Democrat grumbled, explaining that he voted to re-elect Gov. Wes Moore, but wasn’t happy about it.

For lifelong Democrats like Jenkins who would never vote Republican, all the competition happened in the June primary – pretty much always the case in deep-blue Baltimore. (Republican Dan Cox, in a rerun of the 2022 election, is trying to unseat Moore.)

Still, Jenkins today vented about what he regards as the sorry state of the city, state and country and how he wished he could vote for someone who would do something about it.

“We’re in bad shape as it is, but I had to vote for him,” the retired corrections officer said, referring to Moore.

“These taxes and everything else are killing us – and they keep raising them,” Jenkins declared, noting that his state vehicle registration tags, which cost him $188 last year, set him back $360 this year. “That’s a big jump!”

“We got a war going on in Iran – that we started – that has gas prices through the roof,” he complained. “Because of that, you got diesel going for $5 or $6 a gallon.”

A tank full of gas for his car costs him $60 these days, the Vietnam veteran said. Topping off his truck runs up to $120.

“Anybody driving a truck is out of luck unless they’re a millionaire,” he moaned.

As he spoke, a steady stream of cars pulled in to the League for People with Disabilities building, at 1111 East Cold Spring Lane, where he had just voted.

Jenkins moved on to the topic of the high cost of housing and everything else these days. He said he worries how rising prices will affect his grandchildren’s future.

“Even though they are all three in college, I worry about whether they are going to be able to make enough money to live on,” he fretted.

“Hold your nose and do it”

The scene at many polling places in Baltimore today was lively considering there are few competitive local races in this gubernatorial election.

Some said they showed up out of eagerness to participate in a mid-term election viewed as more consequential than any in many years, given the possibility that Democrats could flip not only the U.S. House but the Senate.

NOTE: Polls close at 8 p.m. tonight. Not sure of your polling place? Go here to find it. To check your voter registration, go here. For basic information on the 2026 gubernatorial election, go here.

The idea that Maryland voters could send a message repudiating President Donald Trump and the Republican Party that has enabled him was on Joanne Smith’s mind as she headed into her North Baltimore polling place on 40th Street, across from The Rotunda.

“I guess we can say something about Trump by voting for this redistricting thing,” she said, referring to Question 3, a Democratic-backed ballot initiative changing the state constitution to eliminate some protections against partisan gerrymandering.

“It’s going to be me doing my little part to get him the hell out of our hair.”

If passed, Question 3 would potentially enable a redrawing of the state’s congressional district map, which now favors Democrats 7-1, into an 8-0 map ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

GOP gubernatorial nominee Cox and Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican congressman, are among those who vehemently oppose Question 3, calling it partisan gerrymandering that bypasses citizen voices.

Several people said they were influenced by an ad former President Barack Obama did recently urging support for Question 3.

Smith, a Democrat, said she doesn’t like gerrymandering, but believes it’s needed to counter similar efforts in Republican-dominated states aimed at keeping the GOP in control of the federal government.

“No time to be prissy, I figure. You just have to hold your nose and do it,” she said. “There’s too much at stake.”