4 Democrats and 3 Republicans. Politics Baltimore County is somewhat of a bellwether for Maryland politics. While it leans slightly Republican compared to the state as a whole, Republicans running for statewide office must carry it solidly to win a statewide election. After going Republican in all but one presidential election from 1944 to 1988, it has voted for the Democratic candidate for president in each election since 1992. However, in gubernatorial elections, it has often gone Republican (1994, 1998, 2006) even as a Democratic candidate was elected governor. In the 2014 gubernatorial election Republican Larry Hogan won Baltimore County by over 20 points (59.03% to 38.89%). |} Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county covers , of which are land and (12%) are water. It is the third-largest county in Maryland by land area. The larger portion of the terrain is undulating, with bold hills often rising to a height of above tide water. The highest elevation is approximately above sea level, along the Pennsylvania state line near Steltz. The lowest elevation is sea level along the shoreline of Chesapeake Bay. Much of Baltimore County is suburban, straddling the border between the Piedmont plateau to the northwest and in the southern and southeastern regions of the county bordering the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay, the Atlantic coastal plain. Northern Baltimore County is primarily rural, with a landscape of rolling hills and deciduous forests characteristic of the Southeastern mixed forests and shares the geography with its neighbors to the east and west, Carroll County and Harford County, and going north across the historic Mason–Dixon line into Adams County and York County in south-central Pennsylvania. Climate The county has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) except in the northern tier where a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) exists. Average monthly temperatures in Towson range from 33.3 °F in January to 76.9 °F in July. The county has three hardiness zones: 6b in some higher northern areas, 7a in most of the county by area, and 7b in areas close enough to the Chesapeake Bay or the City of Baltimore. Adjacent counties and independent city York County, Pennsylvania (north) Carroll County (west) Harford County (east) Anne Arundel County (south) Kent County (Southeast) Howard County (southwest) Baltimore City (south) National protected area Hampton National Historic Site State protected area Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area Transportation Major roads and highways Transit