Field narrows in race for Dem governor nod
Ahead of mail-in count, Moore leads Perez, Franchot
Primary night in Maryland ended Tuesday with nominees set in some contests and other races too close to call as nearly every consequential state and local office was on the ballot.
By Wednesday evening, Wes Moore led the Democratic gubernatorial contest for the right to face off against Republican nominee Dan Cox in the general election in November.
In-person votes have been counted. Canvassing of mail-in ballots won’t begin until Thursday, a delay required by Maryland law.
Here’s a roundup of some prominent races.
Governor: Cox, a far-right conservative Republican delegate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, made national headlines as he defeated Gov. Larry Hogan’s handpicked successor, former state Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz.
On the Democratic side, former nonprofit leader Moore leads with nearly 37% of the vote, followed by former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez at slightly over 27% and state Comptroller Peter Franchot at almost 20%.
About 169,000 mail-in ballots had been returned by Tuesday, and Perez and Franchot were hoping those could make up the difference for their campaigns.
With votes in the Democratic primary race for governor still being tallied, candidates outside the top group of vote-getters are starting to concede, whittling the pool down by Wednesday evening.
Ashwani Jain, a former Obama White House official, dropped out Wednesday. Doug Gansler, former attorney general, said in a statement: “The results were not what we had hoped for, but I look forward to congratulating and supporting our Democratic nominee once the race is called.”
John. B. King, President Barack Obama’s education secretary, and Jon Baron, a nonprofit executive, conceded Tuesday night. Rushern Baker III, former
Prince George’s county executive, dropped out last month.
Associated Press on Tuesday night declared Baltimore Del. Brooke E. Lierman the presumptive Democratic nominee for comptroller.
Lierman, who is finishing her second term in the House of Delegates as a representative of South Baltimore, downtown and the Inner Harbor, earned 64% of early and primary day votes, sweeping Timothy J. Adams, the mayor of Bowie, who conceded Wednesday.
She will face Republican Harford County Executive Barry Glassman in the general election.
State comptroller:
The first competitive race for Baltimore sheriff in years remained too close to call. Challenger Sam Cogen has a razor-thin lead over 33-year incumbent Sheriff John Anderson.
Cogen, who served as a deputy in Anderson’s office until leaving in November, is leading with 50.3% of the votes over Anderson’s 49.7%, with a 269-vote margin separating the two.
Baltimore City sheriff:
Anderson has been Baltimore’s sheriff since 1989.
Congress: Heather Mizeur, a former Montgomery County delegate and 2014 gubernatorial candidate, was declared the District 1 Democratic nominee Tuesday night, and will take on Congressman Andy Harris, the state’s sole Republican House representative, in November.
Mizeur bested former Foreign Service officer Dave Harden in the race to oppose Harris, a six-term congressman who met with Trump to discuss disrupting President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
Senate: In one of the earliest called races of the night, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen beat back a primary challenge just months after suffering a minor stroke. He is favored in November to win a second term against Republican Chris Chaffee, who launched a failed congressional bid in 2014.