Bernard Flowers

Bernard Flowers is the Republican nominee for Maryland's 3rd Congressional District and a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel with nearly 21 years of active-duty service. He later worked in banking and as a Department of Defense civil servant, and ran in the 2022 Republican primary for the 2nd District before winning the 2026 nomination here.[1][2]

Flowers was born in Lumberton, North Carolina.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1987 and a graduate degree from Golden Gate University in 1991, and he graduated from the U.S. Air Force War College in 2006.[1] He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1987 to 2008; according to his Ballotpedia survey response, his service included an assignment at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.[1][2]

After retiring from the military, Flowers worked in banking and then returned to the Department of Defense as a civil servant, where he says he helped stand up U.S. Cyber Command and served as NORAD and U.S. Northern Command's Senior Technical Advisor at Fort Meade.[2] Ballotpedia lists his associations as Disabled American Veterans, the Ft. Meade Rifle and Pistol Club, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.[1]

Flowers ran in the 2022 Republican primary for Maryland's 2nd Congressional District, finishing fourth with 13.2% of the vote.[1] He won the June 23, 2026 Republican primary for the 3rd District with 48.9% of the vote over John White, Ray Bly, and Felix Seier, and he faces Rep. Sarah Elfreth in the general election.[1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.