Election Day recap: Reaction and results from across Maryland

Republican candidate for governor Dan Cox called Democrat Wes Moore on Wednesday to concede defeat in the Maryland election.

In a statement posted on social media, Cox said he called Moore “to sincerely wish him well in his constitutional service.”

All but one of Maryland’s congressional incumbents cruised to victory Tuesday, with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen fending off a challenge from Republican Chris Chaffee and Congressman Andy Harris — the lone Republican in the state’s congressional delegation — besting Democrat Heather Mizeur. In Western Maryland, Republican Neil Parrott held a lead overDemocratic Rep. David Trone with mail ballots still to be counted.

Democrats Mike Ertel and state Del. Pat Young have prevailed in races for Baltimore County Council’s two open seats in the central 6th District and the southwestern 1st District.

Republican David Marks handily won reelection to a fourth term in the redrawn 5th District, where his voters more than doubled those who cast their ballots for Marks’ challenger, Crystal Francis, the former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, holding 67.7% of the vote by midnight Wednesday.

Two Baltimore County school board candidates appeared headed to victory late Tuesday while candidates in two other races were locked in tough fights, with tens of thousands of mail-in ballots yet to be counted.

In District 1, social worker Robin Harvey received about 68% of the vote in her race against scientist Cory Koons, according to early voting returns and with all precincts reporting. In District 2, former county schools educator Jane Lichter led retired Baltimore city schools psychologist Rebecca Chesner by a 3-2 margin.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. cruised to reelection over Republican challenger, former state Del. Pat McDonough, who conceded his loss after Tuesday’s partial elections results showed the incumbent ahead by more than an 18-point margin.

Olszewski claimed 59% of the vote after almost 190,000 mailed, early and Election Day ballots were counted as of 11 p.m. Tuesday — too far ahead for conservative radio talk show host McDonough to catch up.

Information technology analyst Ashley E. Esposito and veteran educator Kwame Kenyatta-Bey were poised late Tuesday to win Baltimore’s first-ever election for seats on the city’s school board.

Based on early voting and mail-in ballots, and with nearly all precincts reporting late Tuesday, Esposito had nearly 29% of the vote and Kenyatta-Bey had more than 27%. Trailing were April Christina Curley, a former teacher with experience in business and the nonprofit sector, who received nearly 23%; and Salimah Jasani with about 20 percent.

As he seeks a fifth term in office, Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger on Tuesday held a wide lead over his first challenger in the general election in 12 years, Jim Haynes.

Brooke Lierman held a wide lead in the race for Maryland comptroller in a race in which she led in the polls by at least 10 points since September.

Lierman, who was running against Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, would be the first woman to be elected to the office, and the first woman to hold any statewide office in Maryland’s history.

Maryland voters cast their ballots Tuesday in favor of a constitutional amendment that will legalize the adult-use and possession of recreational cannabis next year, according to The Associated Press.

Rep. David Trone was locked in a tight race with Republican challenger Del. Neil Parrott Tuesday night, in a battle for Western Maryland’s congressional seat where new political lines have boosted GOP fortunes and created the state’s most competitive district.

Parrott, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2011, was carrying 47% of the vote in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District around 10 p.m., with just over a third of precincts reporting. Trone, the Democratic incumbent and wealthy owner of a liquor store empire, trailed by just under 5,000 votes.

Democratic Congressman Anthony Brown has claimed victory against Anne Arundel County attorney Michael Peroutka in the race for Maryland attorney general.

With early voting, some mail-in ballots and 550 precincts reporting, Brown had 62%, or a lead of about 190,000 votes. Most of the state’s precincts remained uncounted when Brown took the stage.

Baltimore voters approved a ballot measure Tuesday that will limit City Hall politicians to two four-year terms in each office. Question K is the only charter amendment on city ballots that was not written by city lawmakers, after a political action committee funded by a top Sinclair executive spent more than $500,000 on canvassing efforts to collect 10,000 signatures from voters and host public awareness campaigns.

In contests for the top jobs in two Baltimore suburbs, Democratic incumbents were seeking to fend off well-funded challenges from Republican opponents, including one seeking to win back a job he lost four years ago.

In Howard County, Democratic incumbent Calvin Ball opened up a double-digit lead over Republican Allan Kittleman, based on results from early voting, mail-in ballots and 10 of 118 Election Day precincts. Ball was winning with about 61% of the vote. Ball, who is Howard County’s first elected Black county executive, previously served as chair and vice chair of the County Council. Kittleman served as county executive from 2014 to 2018, when he was unseated by Ball.

Ivan Bates took his 6-year-old daughter, London, with him as he voted at his polling place at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School in Locust Point.

Bates said he walked her into the building and explained the process of voting. When she saw the ballot with her father’s name on it, she exclaimed, “Daddy, that’s you! Daddy, that’s you!” They then held a pen together and filled out the bubble.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland won a second term Tuesday, defeating Republican Chris Chaffee in the heavily Democratic state.

In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, Van Hollen’s seat was considered a safe one for Democrats.

Van Hollen, 63, was elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving seven terms in the U.S. House.

Voters who supported Van Hollen described him as a reliable Democrat with a long history in Maryland. Mary Magnotti said she voted for Van Hollen as well as all the other Democrats she could.

Maryland’s next governor is Wes Moore, a 44-year-old first-time candidate who coasted to an easy victory on Tuesday, riding a message of optimism and a promise to expand opportunities for all.

Baltimore City Election Director Armstead Jones has been released from an area hospital after spending much of Election Day receiving medical care for an unspecified condition.

Poll workers embraced voters as they walked into Glyndon Elementary School in Reisterstown, and judges chatted with voters as they claimed their “I Voted” stickers.

Harriette Weinner, 55, is a proud voter sporting one of the stickers. As a Democrat, she voted for Wes Moore for governor, but she “sincerely appreciates Governor Hogan’s handling of the pandemic.”

During the last cycle, Weinner felt both the candidates for county executive “canceled each other out,” but she ended up voting for John “Johnny O” Olszewski.

This election, she’s happy to vote for him again because “he’s really stepped up for the people of Baltimore County.”

Weinner has lived in Reisterstown for years and knows that many Marylanders aren’t “far left” but are more middle-of-the-road voters, and she believes that Hogan’s two terms appealed to a lot of Marylanders.

She isn’t the only Democrat who appreciates Hogan’s time in office.

Ken Salabes, 72, said he voted nearly 100% Democrat, but noted “Hogan said to vote for Barry Glassman [for comptroller], so I voted for him.”

While he doesn’t doesn’t consider himself very political, Salabes echoed Weinner’s sentiment that Hogan’s leadership appealed to him as a moderate.

For 27 years, Yelena Schwartz, 61, has been an educator in Baltimore City Public Schools.

She’s seen a lot of changes during her tenure. Her main concern is her safety.

“Democrats get too much freedom… [there are] riots and things but there are no consequences for people,” she said.

As an educator, she notices that it’s difficult to report safety concerns and feels increasingly less safe. She voted Republican down the ballot in hopes of getting more support in the classroom.

As far as ballot questions, she was happy to vote for the $200 million bond for infrastructure.

“It’s crazy that they’re giving millions of dollars abroad and just a fraction of that for schools here,” she said.

When Elina Greenan, 43, cast her ballot at Severna Park High School Tuesday morning, she was thinking mostly about the candidates’ stances on education for her daughter Addison, 6, who came to the polls with her.

Greenan and her family recently moved to Anne Arundel County from Montgomery County, where she said she had concerns about the curriculum.

“There's just a lot of things that they’re teaching in the schools that we weren’t OK with,” said Greenan voted for Del. Dan Cox for governor because she believes he’ll work for greater parental involvement in education.

Greenan said education should be more about math and science “and things that the kids are supposed to learn about, and leaving the other stuff to parents to teach their kids.”

Melanie Page, 43, a self-described “Republicrat,” said her ballot was “all over the board.” Page voted for some Republican candidates in down-ballot races. But she voted for Wes Moore for governor because of her concern for protecting abortion rights in the state.

“I feel under attack, even though I’m not having any children and it’s not directly affecting me,” said Page.

A slow but steady stream of voters made their way into Severna Park High School on Tuesday morning.

At a campaign stop outside the school, County Executive Steuart Pittman, who is running for reelection, was joined by gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore.

“I have full faith that we've run a strong campaign, that we've left no corner of this state, we haven’t ceded it to anybody,” Moore told reporters, adding that he was optimistic about turnout in the state.

“When you look at the turnout that came in both from early voting and also the mail-in balloting, it's exciting watching the kind of energy that has taken place already,” he said.

Moore said he planned to spend the rest of the day with his family until the results start rolling in. He said that if he wins, his victory speech will focus on the need for unity in the state.

“It's our time, it's Maryland's time to win. It's Maryland's time to be bold. It is Maryland's time to move ahead of these other states, but the only way we're going to do it is if we do it together,” he said.

Pittman, who is being challenged by Republican Jessica Haire, also expressed optimism about the results. Of the over 37,000 mail ballots received by Anne Arundel County Board of Elections by Sunday, nearly 23,000 were from Democrats.

“They’ve got a lot of ground to catch up, and I just don’t think they can do it,” Pittman said of the Republicans, adding, “I think our race is gonna be a bright spot, because we're a purple county.”

Baltimore City Elections Director Armstead Jones has been hospitalized amid Maryland’s November general election.

Education was top of mind for several voters who cast ballots midday at Digital Harbor High School in Baltimore’s Federal Hill neighborhood.

Julianna Stine, 32, said she supports Democrat Wes Moore for governor because he won an endorsement from the state’s teachers union and seems to value educators’ ideas on how to help struggling students catch up.

“He doesn’t want to let politicians run our school system,” said Stine, who teaches fourth grade. “He says, ‘Trust the educators,’ because he knows we know how to run a classroom. He wants to empower us, and I love that.”

Sean Elliott, 48, said he wouldn’t normally think too hard about the candidates seeking to serve on the school board, but this year he studied them closely, searching for candidates he considers capable, intelligent and ethical. The ones he supported are all Democrats, he said.

“In other states, some unusual candidates have run for school board and injected national, culture war politics into the conversation,” he said. “I didn’t want that to happen here.”

Elliott said he voted a straight Democratic ticket because he doesn’t think divided government works. And at the top of that ticket was Moore, who exudes warmth and optimism that will be good for Maryland, Elliott said.

Moore will also be able to help Maryland in two years when the “inevitable chaos” of the next presidential election ensues, he added.

George Leap, 76, has supported Democrats in the past, but today he voted for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox and said he hopes to see the GOP capture full control of Congress.

The health of the economy is one of his top issues, and he thinks that electing more Republicans in Maryland and nationally will help stabilize it.

“I’m a big proponent of the existing governor, Larry Hogan. He wasn’t too far left or too far right,” Leap said. “And if Cox wins, I hope he’ll govern the same way.”

He noted, however, that Hogan had declined to endorse Cox.

A handful of polling places had technical difficulties and opened late, but overall, Election Day voting got off to a smooth start on Tuesday, a top state elections official said.

“We’ve had a smooth morning of voting,” Nikki Charlson, deputy state elections administrator, told reporters during a midday briefing.

Some polling sites had trouble with either their pollbooks or scanners, including Bowie State University, where President Joe Biden spoke last night and encouraged people to vote. The Bowie State polling site didn’t open until 9:40 a.m., Charlson said. The state hadn’t received any reports of voter intimidation or other issues as of midday, Charlson said.

Asked about some campaigns suggesting voters cast their ballots late in the day to create long lines, Charlson said that’s “certainly on our radar.”

“Typically, after work hours is a busy time anyway, so the election judges are prepared,” she said.

Polls are open until 8 p.m. and anyone in line at that time will be allowed to vote.

Voters who still have a mail ballot need to have them postmarked by 8 p.m. They can also be returned to ballot drop boxes or at polling locations.

Voters sporadically made their way into Oliver Beach Elementary School in Southeast Baltimore County to vote in the early afternoon.

The school, surrounded by single-family homes in Chase, is where Sonja Harris looked forward to casting her vote for Democrat Wes Moore.

She described Moore as a “people person” who has innovative ideas about small businesses, saying she had a chance to hear him speak at a function earlier this year. Harris works for the Maryland Department of Human Services and is also a double minority business owner — Black and a woman — of self-care businesses, offering foot care, yoni steam and massages.

Harris, 56, who wore a “Here to Slay” gray sweater, backs Moore’s stance on abortion.

Moore told the Baltimore Banner that he would release funding in the budget to fund training in abortion care for doctors and medical professionals.

“It’s a woman’s right,” Harris said. “How dare someone try to say that it’s not. How dare you put women in jeopardy.”

Her cousin died from a back-alley abortion before the procedure was legalized, she said.

Harris thinks people need to educate themselves and get out and vote, especially because, she said, voter suppression tactics exist.

“It is disrespectful and disheartening for any person, of color or not, not to come vote,” she said. “Our ancestors fought for us. If you can’t continue that, you don’t have a voice.”

Sparks Elementary School in northern Baltimore County is home to two polling sites, each filled with people waiting to vote. Several children wait as their parents and caregivers vote, and some even have brought their dogs.

“I have been voting here for years. And in the morning, it’s usually packed, but I like to come around lunchtime,” said Phil Templeton, 67. For him, the democratic process is essential. He’s been a “Democrat all the time.”

County residents were considering multiple ballot questions to approve loans for improvements to schools, fire departments, police stations and detention facilities.

“I’m really concerned about infrastructure and education, so I happily voted for the questions to keep that up,” he said.

Shaun Jayachandran arrived at his polling location at St. Mary of the Assumption in Govans about 7:45 a.m. But it had not opened.

After speaking with an election officer, he was informed the polls there would not open for another 30 minutes.

“I thought it was strange that they had not opened yet because it was 45 minutes after the opening time,” Jayachandran said.

He lives nearby and decided to go home to work remotely for the day. “Luckily, I only live a short distance away – it’s about a 10 minute walk from my home – but for people who plan and carve out time in the day to get out and vote around, the unpreparedness could be pretty discouraging,” he added.

Jayachandran has some meetings over the course of the day, but he said he plans to go back out this afternoon to try and vote again.

Baltimore Election Director Armstead Jones said the city tries to ensure all locations open on time.

“Well, we have 296 buildings that we want to make sure we open in a timely manner, but there’s always bound to be one or two places that open late,” he said. “And that’s wherever you go.”

By late morning, the pace of voters coming to cast ballots at the central Enoch Pratt Free Library slowed to a trickle.

“There’s no line! Wow,” one voter exclaimed as he entered the lobby.

Several of those who came through said they were new to the area and eager to weigh in on statewide issues like marijuana legalization as well as local questions.

Former Florida resident Brittaney Pertsas, 25, said she voted yes to legalize marijuana and yes for term limits in city government. “There’s a lot to have a say on in this election,” she said. Michael Conley, 34, recently moved to the area for law school and said exercising his right to say who should control the Baltimore Police Department and whether to fund some development projects is “vital to a prosperous society.”

He added that he supports Democrat Wes Moore for governor because he believes in free and fair elections. Had Republicans nominated a more moderate candidate, the race for governor likely would have been more competitive, Conley thought.

He called Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox “another sycophant for Trump.”

Opera student Heather Morrison, 26, said she feels far less stressed voting today than she would have if she’d cast her ballot in her home state of Ohio, where Democrats and Republicans are locked in several close races.

She’s confident that Democrats in Maryland, including Moore, will come out on top today, even if they suffer losses elsewhere in the country.

Jordan Silz, 36, just moved to Baltimore from Seattle and said he cast the polling location’s first provisional ballot. He said he voted for Moore for governor because Gov. Larry Hogan has done “a terrible job on infrastructure.”

Moore, he said, will do a better job developing light and regional rail as well as protecting women’s access to abortion. Still, he said, it’s hard not to feel cynical about how devastating Democrats’ losses might be nationally if turnout today is down.

“Midterm elections are usually subject to pitiful turnout,” Silz said.

“Anyone elected to federal office seems to get their legs cut out from underneath them two years later," Silz added. "The people who supported them the first time around don’t show up. Then the person gets half an agenda done rather than a full one. It’s nonsense.”

An election worker at the library who declined to share her full name said about 75 voters had come through in the first few hours of voting this morning.

“It’s slow right now, but everyone on our team is in position, doing what they need to do,” said the worker.

She said a few ballots “bounced back” when the machine used to process them identified errors like more than one candidate being selected in a single race.

In those cases, her team is trained to “spoil” the first ballot and allow the voter to fill out a new ballot correctly.

“We have to account for everything,” the worker said. “We don’t throw anything away.”

Arthur Lawrence, 62, believes the events on January 6th, 2021, should have opened the eyes of U.S. citizens.

“I went Democrat down the ticket — it really wasn’t no other choice,” he said. “I feel like we got to fight against MAGA. The Capitol attack should’ve awakened everybody to participate in the voting process because they aren’t playing and people fought for our right to vote.”

Voters began streaming into the central Enoch Pratt Free Library promptly at 7 a.m. when one of the city’s largest polling locations opened its doors.

After a short 10-minute delay, a poll worker exclaimed, “We’re cooking with gas! We’re rolling!” and voters began shuffling to stations to cast their ballots.

Several voters said in interviews that recent threats to American democracy — from Republican candidates who deny the results of the last presidential election to the insurrection at the Capitol — were top of mind.

Ralph LaRue Smith, 62, said he hopes turnout today in Maryland and across the country reflects the seriousness of that threat. He said he supports Wes Moore for governor because he believes the author and nonprofit executive will help Maryland reach “the next level” in terms of smart use of state resources and innovative policies.

“People need to get out today and exercise their rights, especially young people, because if not, we’ll have a difficult road ahead,” LaRue Smith said. “Plus, voting for Maryland’s first Black governor feels absolutely terrific.”

Bessie Gray, 87, who lives across the street from the library at Basilica Place, was one of the first people in line. She said she planned to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket because she believes the party is the only one left fighting for democracy.

She said she used to think of white, male, Republican politicians as polite and well-educated. But that changed with former President Donald Trump, whom she described as “real loud and not classy.” Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox is just like him, she said, so she’s backing Moore.

“Trump was the beginning of something I had never seen before,” Gray said. “Gentlemen shake each other’s hands when it’s all over. Can you imagine not giving over the title? Where am I? Another planet? Is this earth? Cox is the same way. He wants to tear everything down.”

Gray cited Cox’s opposition to abortion as a major concern.

Even if Democrats lose control of Congress or statehouses across the country, Gray said, she has faith that democracy will survive.

“In someone’s womb right now is the next Martin Luther King Jr. or the next John F. Kennedy,” she said. “We can never lose hope that it’ll come back around.”