Elfreth declares victory in 30th
Gile overtakes Republican Saab in District 33 race
Annapolis state Sen. Sarah Elfreth declared victory Tuesday in her reelection bid and District 33 candidate Dawn Gile took the lead in her senate race as Democrats continued to pull ahead, according to mail-in ballot returns from the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
Elfreth, who ran for a second term to represent District 30, has maintained a lead over her challenger, Republican Stacie MacDonald, since mail-in ballot canvassing began Thursday. She leads by 5,000 votes.
“While we will not know the exact margin of our victory for a bit longer, I am elated that due to the hard work of our volunteers — and as a result of our common sense, solutions-driven message — our campaign won with the highest margin in this seat in at least 20 years,” Elfreth said in a statement. “I want to thank Stacie MacDonald for running a campaign true to her beliefs, and wish her well.”
In District 33, the only Senate race with no incumbent, Gile, an attorney from Severna Park, overtook opponent Del. Sid Saab, returns showed. Gile now leads the Republican by about 1,000 votes.
In the heat of the election, Saab filed a defamation suit against Gile. Saab alleged she was responsible for campaign mailers that he claimed contained “categorically false” allegations against him, and darkened his skin “to gin up racist tropes about dark foreigners being dishonest,” according to court filings.
Gile filed a response stating the mailers in question were sent by the Maryland Democratic Senate Caucus Committee. Her attorney, Joseph Sandler, wrote that even if Gile had published the mailers, they did not show enough malice for Saab’s lawsuit to succeed.
The mailers in question
referred to Saab’s association with First Call Medical Center in Gambrills, where Saab’s business associate, Ron Elfenbein, awaits trial in U.S. District Court on Medicare fraud charges. They also referenced a lawsuit against Saab’s other business where a female employee claimed she was fired after reporting she was sexually harassed by a coworker.
If Gile wins, the only remaining Anne Arundel Republican in the state Senate will be Sen. Bryan Simonaire, of Pasadena. He will also be the only man of the four senators. Besides Elfreth and Gile, the other Anne Arundel senator on pace to reclaim her seat is state Sen. Pamela Beidle, a Democrat from Linthicum. Beidle is leading by nearly 7,000 votes.
A few hours after Elfreth declared victory, Republican County Council member Jessica Haire conceded to incumbent Democrat Steuart Pittman late Tuesday in the Anne Arundel County executive race, bringing an end to one of the most closely watched local elections. Two
County Council candidates, Julie Hummer, a Democrat, and Nathan Volke, a Republican, declared victory in their respective races for District 4 and District 3.
In Districts 12 and 21, which both include parts of Anne Arundel County, incumbent Democrats Sen. Clarence Lam and Sen. Jim Rosapepe, respectively, are on track to reclaim their seats. District 12 covers Howard County and Anne Arundel while District 21 includes parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel.
All the House of Delegates races showed incumbents maintaining their leads aside from Del. Heather Bagnall, an incumbent Democrat locked in a tight race with Republican Kerry Gillespie. Bagnall trails by 110 votes as of Tuesday night.
In the down-ballot races, Democratic incumbent Scott Poyer now leads Republican Terry Gilleland by about 400 votes in the race for Clerk of the Circuit Court.
About 7,500 provisional ballots are scheduled to be counted Wednesday while 15,000 mail-ins each will be counted Thursday and Friday. The state deadline to certify the election is Friday.