Remember that all vote totals are incomplete as absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted.
In District 24 (Prince George’s), Prince George’s Councilmember Andrea Harrison snagged the open slot, coming well ahead (1352 votes in the election night returns) of the fourth-place candidate, LaTasha Ward, in a crowded field. She’ll join incumbent Dels. Erek Barron and Jazz Lewis.
In District 25 (Prince George’s), incumbent Dels. Darryl Barnes and Dereck Davis cruised to reelection with Barnes besting Economic Matters Chair Davis by 878 votes in election night returns. They will be joined in the House by Nick Charles who easily captured the third seat, beating fourth-place finisher Wala Blegay by 2022 votes.
Incumbent Dels. Jay Walker, Kris Valderrama and former Del. Veronica Turner cruised to the Democratic nomination in District 26 (Prince George’s). Turner returns to the House after losing a primary bid against Sen. Anthony Muse by 51% to 33% in 2014.
Del. Susie Proctor, appointed to the House for District 27A (Prince George’s & Charles) after the death of her husband, won the nomination in her own right with 55% of the vote. Her nearest challenger, Lynn Jackson, won 19%. The incumbents in 27B (Calvert & Prince George’s) and 27C (Calvert) faced no primary opponents.
In District 28 (Charles), incumbent Dels. Edith Patterson and C.T. Wilson easily won renomination. They will be joined by County Commissioner Debra Davis, who won the open seat by a very comfortable margin. Charles now has an entirely African-American state legislative delegation, and one wonders if one of the three delegate nominees, all experienced elected officials, wishes they had run against Mac Middleton, who lost renomination to a first-time candidate.
The three incumbent Republican delegates in 29A (St. Mary’s), 29B (St. Mary’s), and 29C (St. Mary’s and Calvert) faced no opposition for renomination.
District 30A (Anne Arundel) has seen strong competition in general elections. Speaker Mike Busch topped the Democratic ticket and will be joined on the ballot by Alice Cain. Though well behind Busch, Cain easily won the second slot. On the Republican side, there are no incumbents and newcomers Bob O’Shea and Chelsea Gill won the nominations. Shea, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Annapolis mayor in 2013, was well out in front, while Gill beat third-place finisher B. Darren Burns by 183 votes in preliminary returns. Incumbent Del. Seth Howard (R) won renomination in District 30B (Anne Arundel) by a 3-1 margin.
Incumbent Del. Ned Carey (D) faced no primary opposition in District 31A (Anne Arundel). Incumbent Del. Nick Kipke (R) will be joined on the ballot by Brian Chisholm, who easily outdistanced the competition for the second slot in 31B (Anne Arundel). Chisholm came in fourth in the 2014 primary.
Incumbent Del. Mark Chang led the Democratic field in District 32 (Anne Arundel). He’ll be joined on the ballot by J. Sandy Bartlett and Mike Rogers, who won comfortably over the fourth-place candidate. Bartlett is a member of the Anne Arundel DCC, while Rogers is a retired army colonel. Both are African American. The three Democrats will face Republicans who had no primary competition.
The three incumbent Republicans in District 33 (Anne Arundel) won renomination, though Tony McConkey struggled hard for a long-time incumbent. Running well behind the other two incumbents, he beat Stacie MacDonald by just 288 votes in preliminary returns. In the past, McConkey has lost his law and real estate licenses, and was reprimanded by the House for trying to get a bill passed to make it easier for him to get the latter back.
In District 34A (Harford), incumbent Del. Mary Ann Lisanti cruised to renomination but the battle for the second Republican slot was very tight with Steve Johnson edging out Sarahia Benn but less than 1% or 66 votes. The Republicans had a four-way fight in 34B (Harford). In a very weak showing for an incumbent, Susan McComas won renomination with just 31.5% of the vote, or 34 votes more than Walter “Butch” Tilley, who has given over 100K in campaign donations to members of both political parties.. Assuming her lead holds up, McComas will face Democrat Jeff Dinger in the general election.
The Republican incumbents faced no opposition in Districts 35A (Cecil) or 35B (Cecil and Harford). The three Republicans incumbents also cruised to renomination in District 36 (Caroline, Cecil, Kent & Queen Anne’s Counties). Michael Smigiel, Jr., whose father of the same name was formerly a delegate, trailed badly in fourth, but carried his home Cecil County.
Incumbents faced weak opposition in District 37 with Democratic Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes winning by more than 3-1 in 37A and Republican Dels. Christopher Adams and Johnny Mautz far ahead of the competition with Mautz well out in first.
In Districts 38A (Somerset and Worcester) and 38B (Wicomico), the Republican incumbents cruised to renomination. In 38C (Wicomico & Worcester), Ocean City Councilman Wayne Hartman won the nomination with 49%. Joe Schanno trailed with 39%. Hartman faces no general election opponent.
