You may not have a sticker to show for it, but your vote will be counted tonight anyway. Results are coming in for the primaries in Baltimore and Maryland, and we’re keeping track of all the races:
Hillary Wins Big in Baltimore City (12:45 a.m.)
Your vote totals in the Democratic presidential primary for Baltimore City:
Clinton 72,469 Sanders 38,710
The Mosby Effect? (12:15 a.m.)
Before we wrap, here’s one last thought on the mayor’s race. Catherine Pugh looks like she will have a victory by about three percentage points, or a few thousand votes. Rather than any single campaign move against each other, the slim margin immediately brings to mind Nick Mosby’s late decision to pull out of the race and endorse Catherine Pugh. The final UB/Baltimore Sun poll had him running at five percent, which means his numbers could have potentially made a difference even if all of his supporters didn’t defect to Pugh. It’ll be interesting to see if any data emerges on this point. Here’s his reaction:
More unites us than divides us. It’s time to come together and push for a Better Baltimore for all Baltimoreans! Congrats to @PughForMayor
— Nick J. Mosby (@Nick_Mosby) April 27, 2016
New Faces Set to Debut on City Council (12:06 a.m.)
With many City Councillors retiring or giving up their seats to run for mayor, it was already a given that the city’s legislative body would have a new look. In the Democratic primary, the point was driven home when an incumbent was defeated.
Unofficial results showed 8 of the 14 races going to newcomers. On the Democratic side, they include Zeke Cohen (1st District), Ryan Dorsey (3rd), Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer (5th), Leon Pinkett (7th District), Kristerfer Burnett (8th), John Bullock (9th), Robert Stokes (12th) and Shannon Sneed (13th), who was leading Warren Branch by a wide margin.
Incumbents Mary Pat Clarke, Bill Henry, Eric Costello, Brandon Scott, Sharon Green Middleton and Ed Reisinger all appear headed toward victories.
There won’t be a change at the top, either. Bernard C. “Jack” Young is winning his race against Kim Trueheart.
In judicial races, the “sitting judges” are all in the lead in the Democratic race. However, City Councilman Jim Kraft is in position for a spot on the Republican ballot in November. He is running sixth in that race. The top six candidates advance.
In the comptroller’s race, Joan Pratt has a wide lead over challenger Mike King.
A Tweet From DeRay (11:25 p.m.)
Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson is running in 6th with about 2.5 percent of the vote.
While I was the last candidate to enter the race, I was the first candidate to release a comprehensive platform. The issues matter.
— deray (@deray) April 27, 2016
Pugh Declares Victory in Mayor’s Race (11:17 p.m.)
With more than 85 percent of the votes in, State Sen. Catherine Pugh maintained her lead in the mayor’s race. Just in time for the 11 p.m. news, Pugh came out on stage to declare victory. The AP followed with an official call.
So, in the end, the high stakes race without an incumbent goes to the politician who finished second the last two times. Her victory speech was the portrait of Democratic unity, as she was surrounded by supporters like Congressman Elijah Cummings, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, and Del. Jill Carter. She also brought up Kwame Rose, the activist who famously confronted Geraldo Rivera last year in the week following the riots.
“My message is about inclusion. My message is about lifting the least of us while we lift all of us,” she said. Later, she added, “Everything I have done to this point has prepared me for this moment.”
As polls foretold, the race came down to Pugh and the former mayor who defeated her in 2007. Vote-wise, Pugh’s margin in the early voting propelled her to a lead she carried throughout the night. As of 11 p.m., Dixon even had a slight lead in the Election Day voting, but could not overcome Pugh’s early separation.
After Pugh’s speech, Sheila Dixon followed with a concession. The former mayor thanked supporters, and said, “I’m not through yet.” A tweet drove home the point:
Now is time to open a new chapter in this city and all of us have to be apart of that process … But I’M NOT THROUGH YET!!!
— Sheila Dixon (@SheilaDixonBalt) April 27, 2016
On the GOP side, former WBAL radio host Alan Walden is the winner of the mayoral nomination.
Szeliga Wins GOP Primary for U.S. Senate (10:30 p.m.)
The ads showing Kathy Szeliga riding a motorcycle appear to have paid off. The state delegate from Baltimore County was declared the winner of the primary in the U.S. Senate race by WJZ-TV. She bested a crowded field with about 35 percent of the vote, setting up a November showdown with Chris Van Hollen. The race didn’t attract as much attention as the Democratic side, but the state’s GOP will be hoping the “everywoman” can draw on some of Gov. Larry Hogan’s upset magic to score a big statewide win for the second year in a row.
Embry Inches Up as Results Come In (10:24 p.m.)
A mayoral math observation as the counting continues: While Catherine Pugh continues to lead, her lead has declined from 44 to 37 percent as ballots cast on Election Day are counted. However, Sheila Dixon has held steady at around 33 percent. Instead, the biggest cut into Pugh’s lead seems to be coming from 3rd place Elizabeth Embry who jumped from 8 percent to about 12 percent. That supports the much-talked-about idea that Dixon has a finite but committed amount of support. But that could change, as there is still counting to do.
Van Hollen Wins U.S. Senate Dem Primary, CNN Says (9:52 p.m.)
Chris Van Hollen will win the U.S. Senate primary on the Democratic side, CNN projects. Early results show the Congressman from Kensington has about 52 percent of the vote, while Donna Edwards trails with 39 percent. In majority-blue Maryland, the win appears to put him in the driver’s seat in the race to succeed U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski. But there’s the matter of Gov. Larry Hogan’s upset win last year that puts an asterisk next to that idea.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen will win the Maryland Democratic Senate primary, CNN projects https://t.co/dNazjTgZP6 pic.twitter.com/NkxAxu9B8J
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 27, 2016
The race appeared to be close in the closing weeks, but many observers are pointing to an attack ad run by Edwards’ campaign that tried to show Van Hollen was in the NRA’s pocket. Here’s a take from ProPublica’s Alec MacGillis, who lives in Baltimore:
Edwards was a strong candidate in state eager to elect a black woman to Senate. But CVH solidity and Emily’s List/NRA overreach doomed her.
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) April 27, 2016
Fire at the Courthouse (9:37 p.m.)
Amid all of the election action, there was a fire at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse downtown earlier tonight. It was small, but still caused an evacuation, Baltimore officials report. The incident ended up colliding with the election, as a judge started a hearing to keep the polls open (as mentioned below) on the sidewalk. It didn’t stay there long after Sun reporter Justin Fenton started filming.
Here’s the beginning of the restarted hearing before it was moved into garage where recording was prohibited pic.twitter.com/162gp48ztj
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) April 26, 2016
Let the Counting Begin (9:28 p.m.)
There was a delay in counting votes while those four Baltimore sites remained open, but now the tallying is underway. Early voting results in the Baltimore mayor’s race show Catherine Pugh in the lead with about 44 percent. She’s followed by Sheila Dixon with 33 percent. In third, Elizabeth Embry received 8.7 percent. Just a warning: It might be a while before all of the votes are counted.
Some Baltimore Polling Places Open Until 9 p.m. (8:33 p.m.)
It looks like there’s a last-minute rush to the polls. U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards, one of the Democrats running for US Senate, successfully petitioned to have four polling sites remain open until 9 p.m.
BREAKING: 4 Polling places in Baltimore City open until 9:00 PM. RT and spread the word! #MDPrimary #MDSen pic.twitter.com/ODKm5iTUdw
— Donna F. Edwards (@DonnaFEdwards) April 26, 2016
Clinton, Trump Win Presidential Primaries, AP Says (8:27 p.m.)
Most polls in the state closed at 8 p.m., and the AP didn’t waste any time making their calls. Hillary Clinton is projected to win the Democratic primary, while Donald Trump rings up another victory on the Republican side. That’s in line with recent polls, and the Capital News Service had illustrations at the ready:
.@AP reports Hillary Clinton wins Maryland. pic.twitter.com/t15QcW5qt6
— Capital News Service (@CNSmd) April 27, 2016
.@AP reports Donald Trump wins Maryland. pic.twitter.com/vcJZ4J9BuJ
— Capital News Service (@CNSmd) April 27, 2016
