# U.S. Representative in Congress, Maryland District 3

**In one sentence:** Your representative helps make federal laws for Congressional District 3; vote for up to one candidate. [1][2]

## The candidates

### Sarah Elfreth (Democratic) [3]
- **Background:** Current District 3 representative and former Maryland state senator; her official biography lists degrees from Towson and Johns Hopkins. [4]
- **Top stated priorities:** Her campaign names lowering household costs, protecting the Chesapeake Bay, supporting federal workers, and protecting abortion rights. [5]
- **Record or experience relevant to this office:** Her official biography reports six years in the Maryland Senate and service on the House Armed Services and Natural Resources committees. [4]

### Berney Flowers (Republican) [3]
- **Background:** His campaign describes him as an Air Force veteran with nearly 21 years of service and a former banking project manager. [6][7]
- **Top stated priorities:** His campaign names term limits, responsible government spending, education reform, and rebuilding infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. [6]
- **Record or experience relevant to this office:** His campaign says he helped launch U.S. Cyber Command and served as a senior technical adviser for two military commands. [7]

## Where they differ

- **Economic focus:** Elfreth’s campaign calls for reversing President Trump’s tariffs—taxes on imports—and expanding affordable child care and housing; Flowers’s campaign stresses responsible spending and infrastructure renewal. [5][6]
- **Government reform:** Elfreth’s campaign backs banning stock trading by members of Congress and strengthening voting rights; Flowers’s campaign backs term limits. These are different stated approaches, not proof that either opposes the other’s proposals. [5][6]

## If you care most about...

- **Household costs** -> Elfreth names child care, housing, student debt, and utility bills; Flowers names responsible spending and infrastructure, but his homepage gives no detailed household-cost plan. [5][6]
- **Accountability in Washington** -> Elfreth names a congressional stock-trading ban; Flowers names term limits and restoring trust in government. [5][6]
- **Experience for the job** -> **A possible argument:** Elfreth’s state and congressional service offers lawmaking experience; Flowers’s military and defense work offers national-security and management experience. [4][7]

## What we could not verify

Detailed Flowers proposals on taxes, abortion, health coverage, or climate: **Not found in sources checked**. Independent confirmation of his campaign’s career claims: **Not found in sources checked**.

The policy comparison above describes stated priorities, not a complete list of disagreements.

## Confidence

**Medium.** Official sources establish the race and Elfreth’s office; the policy comparison relies on candidates’ own statements, with less detail available for Flowers. [2][3][4][5][6][7]

## Sources

1. [1] The House Explained - U.S. House of Representatives - https://www.house.gov/the-house-explained
2. [2] Howard County certified general-election ballots - Maryland State Board of Elections - https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/general_ballots/Howard.pdf
3. [3] 2026 General Election State Candidates List - Maryland State Board of Elections - https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/general_candidates/2026_GG_statewide_candidatelist.html
4. [4] About - Office of Representative Sarah Elfreth (own biography) - https://elfreth.house.gov/about
5. [5] Issues - Elfreth for Maryland (candidate’s own claims) - https://elfrethformaryland.com/issues/
6. [6] Home - Flowers for Maryland (candidate’s own claims) - https://flowersformaryland.com/
7. [7] About - Flowers for Maryland (candidate’s own claims) - https://flowersformaryland.com/about-2/