Comment Incumbent Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich declared victory late Saturday in a tight rematch with Potomac businessman David Blair after The Associated Press deemed the contest too close. His announcement came after nearly three weeks of ballot counting, with Elrich holding an unofficial lead of 42 votes. The State Board of Elections registered eight additional provisional ballots Sunday. Four went to Elrich and four to Blair. “Honored to be the Democratic candidate for the county,” Elrich tweeted. “I want to thank the voters. I love this county and care about our residents so deeply. This primary has been a long (and certainly exciting) journey.” Less than 12 hours later, Blair announced in a press release that he would call for a recount. “We have made a strong statement that our community wants and deserves proactive and positive local leadership,” he said in the statement. Under Maryland law, Blair has three days after the election for officials to certify the results to file for a recount. The state will conduct a recount at no cost if the margin of difference between the two candidates with the most votes is 0.25 percentage points or less of the vote. Elrich was up 0.03 percentage points when he declared victory. The Associated Press said Saturday that it will not declare a winner until election officials certify the vote count and all potential challenges to the election have passed. The long wait and narrow margins echo past conflict between the two and their competing visions for the county. Elrich, an increasingly divisive figure in Montgomery politics whose approach to growth and development has drawn sharp criticism this election cycle, bested Blair by 77 votes in 2018 to secure his first term leading the most county in Maryland. Counting votes in that race took nearly two weeks and also led to a recount that changed two votes, Elrich noted in a tweet Saturday as people questioned whether the margin was decisive. While some congratulated him, others noted that even if the count stands, he hasn’t been embraced by a slew of Democratic voters. Elrich said in an interview Sunday morning that he decided to run for victory because, even with 34 ballots outstanding, he would still be ahead. He acknowledged that nothing is official, but appeared confident of the results. “Narratives rarely change anything. The last time we had a recount, it changed two votes,” Elrich said. “I feel really good, but nothing is one hundred percent.” This year, term-limited County Councilman Hans Riemer (D-At Large) and Gaithersburg resident Peter James also competed in the close Democratic primaries, that was characterized by heavy spending and intense criticism among the candidates willing to posit themselves as effective alternatives to Elrich. Social justice is reshaping the housing debate in liberal suburban Maryland Montgomery County Democratic voters also promoted six new faces, all women, to County Council races. According to unofficial results, Laurie-Anne Sayles was projected to win the nomination for the fourth at-large seat, joining incumbents Gabe Albornoz, Will Jawando and Evan Glass as Democrats on the November ballot. Dawn Luedtke was expected to win the Democratic nomination for District 7, joining newcomers Marilyn Balcombe, Kate Stewart, Kristin Mink and Natalie Fani-Gonzalez on the ballot in their respective districts. Also winning were District 3 incumbent Sidney Katz and District 1 incumbent Andrew Friedson, who ran unopposed. Observers say the narrow margin in the county executive race is a referendum on Elrich’s policies, particularly on affordable housing, development and land use, issues that animated the campaign. While his supporters support his cautious approach to economic development, many county residents said Montgomery needs stronger leadership to attract businesses and jobs. Much of Montgomery’s business community rallied behind Blair, while Elrich garnered endorsements from dozens of labor unions and worker groups such as Pro-Choice Maryland and CASA in Action. At least two super PACs emerged to influence the county executive race, one focused on affordable housing and getting votes away from Elrich, and another with financial backing from real estate and development groups, which backed Blair. Elrich was heavily funded by Blair, a millionaire who according to the most recent campaign finance reports loaned his campaign $4.8 million. Elrich had raised just over $1 million through the county’s crowdfunding program, which allows candidates to receive matching funds for donations of $250 or less from county residents. Montgomery officials finished counting ballots Saturday afternoon, ending an unprecedented primary election cycle marked by mail-in voting, late results and a state law barring election officials from processing mail-in ballots until two days after the election. While most statewide races had wide enough margins to call weeks ago, local leaders have been patiently awaiting results in Montgomery, the last county in Maryland to finish counting ballots in the July 19 primary. The winner after all will face Reardon Sullivan, the former head of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, in the November general election, though this blue county hasn’t elected a Republican county executive since the 1970s.
