Almond, Olszewski, Brochin
The Democratic primary race for Baltimore County executive was up in the air Tuesday night. With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, John Olszewski Jr. (Johnny O) was in the lead, followed by Sen. Jim Brochin with Councilwoman Vicki Almond trailing slightly.
Olszewski 26,698 votes (33.1 percent)
Brochin 26,337 votes (32.6 percent)
Almond 25,707 votes (31.8 percent)
But with such a tight margin, the absentee and provisional ballots cast could change the results.
“I’m overwhelmed from all the support from tens of thousands of voters and am very excited about where the race stands,” Olszewski said in an interview late Tuesday night. “We believe every vote should be counted and we’re committed to making sure that happens. But I’m humbled and excited by the support we’ve seen and we really hope we have the opportunity to continue our positive message.”
Almond addressed supporters Tuesday evening at Diamondz in Randallstown. In a video posted by The Baltimore Sun, she said, “Hopefully we’ll know something soon, but please know that I appreciate each and every one of you. You’re a part of my life, you always will be, and whatever happens in this race, God knows what he’s doing.”
On the Republican side, state insurance commissioner Al Redmer won with about 56 percent of the vote to Del. Pat McDonough’s 44 percent.
Baltimore County has 308,000 registered Democrats, 143,000 Republicans and 92,000 registered voters who are unaffiliated.
Nearly 3,600 absentee ballots were sent to Baltimore County Democrats for the primary. So far 1,800 have been received by the state but more are coming in. The first batch of absentee ballots will be counted Thursday, said Donna Duncan, assistant deputy administrator at the Board of Elections. Provisional ballots won’t be counted until July 5, she said. Then, on July 6, they will count the absentee ballots that came in after the first 1,800.
David Marks, left, and Jay Payne
Councilman David Marks easily survived a challenge by Idlewylde’s Jay Payne, winning 83 percent of the vote to Payne’s 17 percent. Alex Foley defeated John Torsch on the Democratic side, though neither campaigned heavily.
“Tonight’s vote was not just an affirmation of the work we have done, but a decisive rejection of eight years of smears and attacks from the Baltimore County Campaign for Liberty. It is time for this organization to reevaluate its leadership,” Marks said in a statement. “We advance to the general election with support from Democrats, Republicans, and voters of all political backgrounds who believe in bipartisan, independent leadership for Baltimore County.”
Councilman Wade Kach, whose district includes Timonium, defeated his primary challengers, Ed Hale Jr. and Doug Zinn.
As expected, Robbie Leonard won the Democratic primary in the District 42 state senate race; his only primary opponent, Gretchen Maneval, dropped out for health reasons, though she was still on the ballot. Leonard will face Republican Chris West in the general election to decide who will replace Brochin in the General Assembly.
On the Baltimore County school board, the Towson area did not have a contested election: Current board member Julie Henn will face Peter Beilenson, the former Baltimore City health commissioner, in the November election.
Del. Steve Lafferty had no challengers in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican Steve McIntire in November.
Full election results are available here.
The shame of it was the poor showing at the polls.