Governor
It’s uncommon that all top three races on the ballot are open all at the same time. The gubernatorial primary on both sides of the aisle will be wide open. Three candidates–Peter Franchot, Wes Moore and Tom Perez are seen–seen as having a shot at taking the Democratic nomination according to recent polls.
Beyond seeing who wins, I’ll be curious to see the winning percentage. In 1966, George P. Mahoney took the nomination with just 30.2% of the vote before going on to lose to Spiro Agnew. Ben Jealous won with 39.6% in 2018 before losing to incumbent Larry Hogan.
On the Republican side, Kelly Schulz and Dan Cox are seemingly in a battle not just for the nomination but the soul of the Maryland Republican Party. Del. Cox is a full bore Trumper who supported the January 6 insurrection and sued Hogan over mask mandates. Former Del. Schulz is a Hogan conservative.
Comptroller and Attorney General
Democrats have competitive races for both of these offices, especially for attorney general between Anthony Brown and Katie Curran O’Malley. While Brown has served at Lt. Governor and a Member of Congress, Curran is an experienced prosecutor. The comptroller’s race is a fight between Bowie Mayor Tim Adams and Del. Brooke Lierman.
Congress
There are two interesting primaries this year. In the First District, Heather Mizeur and David Harden are competing for the Democratic nomination. Mizeur is a former delegate and talented pol from Takoma Park who moved to the Eastern Shore after falling short in her gubernatorial bid.
Harden has deep roots in the district. A former career foreign service officer, he was later nominated and confirmed as Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance. Either candidate will face an uphill battle against extremist incumbent Rep. Andy Harris.
Meanwhile, the Republicans have a barn burner over on the other side of the state to take on incumbent Rep. David Trone in the Sixth District. The leading candidates are Matthew Foldi, a 25-year old endorsed by Donald Trump, Jr., Larry Hogan, Kevin McCarthy and Mike Pompeo who refuses to say Biden won the election.
His main opponent is Del. Neil Parrott. He’s best known on this blog as the advocate of the “bathroom bill” but was also endorsed by the Washington Post because he acknowledges Biden is the legitimate president and opposed the violence on January 6th.
State Legislature
I’m staying mainly focused on Montgomery County here where the marquee race for the state senate is between incumbent Jeff Waldstreicher and challenger Max Socol in District 18 for the Democratic nomination.
But I am curious how the fight for the Democratic nomination between former Del. Mary-Dulany James and Del. Mary Ann Lisanti plays out in District 34 in Harford County. James narrowly lost to Republican Bob Casilly by 189 votes in 2018. Former Del. and Assistant Deputy Secretary for Disabilities Christian Miele seems likely to get the Republican nod.
On the Republican side, it will worth watching whether endangered incumbent Sen. Addie Eckardt can fend off a strong challenge from Del. Johnny Mautz over on the Eastern Shore in District 37.
In the delegate races, there are couple that I’m following. Will incumbent Del. Gabe Acevero, cordially disliked by all of the other incumbents who endorsed a challenger, win renomination in District 39? Will appointed incumbent Linda Foley beat well-funded frequent candidate Saqib Ali, who has been in the media lately for abuse allegations?
County Races
Opponents David Blair and Hans Riemer along with outside groups have brought in truly unbelievable sums of cash to defeat incumbent Marc Elrich for the Democratic nomination for county executive. Will they succeed in topping him?
The at-large council race feels like a game of musical chairs. My guess is that Gabe Albornoz, Evan Glass and Will Jawando have the edge for three seats, so who wins the fourth? Incumbent Tom Hucker is trying to jump from district to at-large and represents a very high share of Democratic primary voters. But he faces strong competition from Scott Goldberg and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
In District 4, Friends of White Flint Director Amy Ginsburg has benefited tremendously from large expenditures by the misnamed “Progressives for Progress” developers. But her opponents, Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart and Del. Al Carr, also have strong geographical bases of support for the open seat that spans from White Flint to Takoma Park. There are also strong battles for open council seats in Districts 5, 6 and 7. (I know less about the state of play in those districts, so won’t write more here.)
State’s Attorney John McCarthy faces strong challengers that claim he has not been progressive or innovative enough in approaching police reform. The sitting four circuit court judges also face similar challenges in their effort to retain their seats. (Vote for the incumbents.)
And One Party Race
Last but not least, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee plays a critical role in filling state legislative vacancies. Will Great Abstainer Jennifer Hosey defeat challenger Gloria Aparicio to keep her seat representing District 17? (Vote for Aparicio.)
