This story will be updated as results come in. Results as of 9:11 p.m. Nov. 3; none of Calvert’s 17 Election Day precincts had reported. Results as of 10:50 p.m. Nov. 3, with all 17 of Calvert’s Election Day precincts reporting. See updates and corrections at the end of this story.
PRINCE FREDERICK — Calvert County’s races for the Board of County Commissioners were too close to call in early returns Tuesday night, with Democrats holding narrow leads in two district races that Republicans hold now. Republicans led every contested race for the Calvert County Board of Commissioners with all precincts reporting late Tuesday, after Election Day votes erased narrow Democratic leads from the early count, according to unofficial State Board of Elections results.
In District 1, Democrat Ethan Cox led Republican Commissioner Mike Hart by 36 votes, 8,140 to 8,104. In District 3, Democrat Michael Bennett led Republican Commissioner Catherine M. Grasso 8,341 to 7,826. The early count includes only early votes and mail-in ballots counted before Election Day, according to unofficial State Board of Elections results. Votes cast Tuesday at the polls had not yet been added. Republican Commissioners Mike Hart in District 1 and Catherine M. Grasso in District 3 had trailed their Democratic challengers when only early and mail-in ballots were counted. With all precincts in, Hart led Democrat Ethan Cox by 3,133 votes and Grasso led Democrat Michael Bennett by 2,473. Republicans Patti Stueckler and Jason Scaggs held the top two spots in the at-large race.
Those two ballot types have split sharply this year. In the governor’s race, Calvert’s early voters favored Republican Dan Cox 7,204 to 5,625, while mail-in voters favored Democratic Gov. Wes Moore 2,015 to 864. How Election Day voters break will likely decide the closest local races. Election Day voters favored Republicans by wider margins than early voters did, which decided the closest local races.
Whatever the final margins, the board will look substantially different in December. Three sitting commissioners lost their Republican primaries in June: at-large Commissioners Todd Ireland and Earl “Buddy” Hance finished behind Patti Stueckler and Jason Scaggs, and District 2 Commissioner Mark C. Cox Sr. lost to Kenneth B. Lee, according to the Maryland Association of Counties and the Chronicle’s primary coverage.
The five-member board sets Calvert’s budget and tax rates and decides zoning and land-use questions. Three commissioners must live in their districts and two serve at large, but all five are elected countywide.
County commissioners
At large (two seats). Four candidates were separated by fewer than 900 votes. Democrat Judy Pedersen led with 7,177 votes, followed by Republican Patti Stueckler with 7,038, Democrat Antoine S. White with 6,998 and Republican Jason Scaggs with 6,353. Unaffiliated candidate Steve Jones, who qualified by petition, had 2,194. Stueckler led with 15,757 votes and Scaggs was second with 14,551. Democrats Judy Pedersen (12,725) and Antoine S. White (12,677) followed, and unaffiliated candidate Steve Jones, who qualified by petition, had 5,095.
Candidate Party Votes Pct. Judy Pedersen Democrat 7,177 12,72524.1% 20.9%Patti Stueckler Republican 7,038 15,75723.6% 25.9%Antoine S. White Democrat 6,998 12,67723.5% 20.8%Jason Scaggs Republican 6,353 14,55121.3% 23.9%Steve Jones Unaffiliated 2,194 5,0957.4% 8.4%as of 9:11 p.m., early and mail-in ballots only as of 10:50 p.m., all 17 precincts. Source: Maryland State Board of Elections
District 1. Hart, who won a three-way primary with 58% in June, trailed Ethan Cox by less than a tenth of a percentage point. led Ethan Cox 54.5% to 45.3%.
District 2. Republican Kenneth B. Lee, who defeated Mark Cox in the primary, had no opponent and is the presumptive winner.
District 3. Bennett led Grasso by 515 votes. Grasso led Bennett 53.6% to 46.3%.
Race Candidate Party Votes Pct. District 1 Ethan Cox Democrat 8,140 15,33150.1% 45.3%District 1 Mike Hart Republican 8,104 18,46449.8% 54.5%District 2 Kenneth B. Lee Republican 10,139 23,00794.4% 95.4%District 3 Michael Bennett Democrat 8,341 15,57151.5% 46.3%District 3 Catherine M. Grasso Republican 7,826 18,04448.4% 53.6%as of 9:11 p.m., early and mail-in ballots only as of 10:50 p.m., all 17 precincts. Lee’s percentage reflects write-in votes. Source: Maryland State Board of Elections
Board of Education
The race for two at-large seats on the nonpartisan Board of Education was effectively a four-way tie, with fewer than 460 votes separating first from last. Lisa Grenis and Jana Post led for the two at-large seats on the nonpartisan Board of Education. Post held second place by 1,198 votes over Dona Cox Ostenso.
Candidate Votes Pct. Lisa Grenis 6,564 14,28626.0% 27.6%Dona Cox Ostenso 6,257 12,07224.7% 23.3%Anne Jones 6,219 11,85424.6% 22.9%Jana Post 6,109 13,27024.2% 25.6%as of 9:11 p.m., early and mail-in ballots only as of 10:50 p.m., all 17 precincts. Source: Maryland State Board of Elections
Row offices and courts
State’s Attorney Bob Harvey, Sheriff Ricky Cox, Clerk of the Circuit Court Jourdan Sturdivant and Treasurer Amanda N. Dolina, all Republicans, had no opponent on the ballot.
In the only contested row office, Democrat Margaret H. Phipps led Republican Mark S. Lynch for Register of Wills, 9,829 to 6,300 18,714 to 14,758.
Three candidates sought three Orphans’ Court seats: Democrat Rick Piereck (9,001 17,023), Republican Leslie M. Downs (8,368 18,370) and Republican Ted LeBlanc (7,901 17,106). Democrat Thomas M. Pelagatti, who won a primary nomination, declined it in July, according to state election records.
Judge Dan Friedman of the Appellate Court of Maryland was winning retention in Calvert with 84% 81.9% yes votes.
State and federal races on Calvert ballots
Governor. Statewide, Gov. Wes Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller led Republican Dan Cox and running mate Rob Krop 64.5% to 31.8% with 306 of 1,979 62.7% to 33.1% with 1,585 of 1,979 Election Day precincts reporting. In Calvert‘s early count, Cox led Moore 8,068 to 7,640, Cox led Moore 18,893 to 13,680, or 55.6% to 40.3%.
Congress, 5th District. With Rep. Steny Hoyer leaving the seat he has held since 1981, Democrat Adrian Boafo led Republican Chris Chaffee of Calvert districtwide, 71.3% to 28.0%, with 35 of 227 67.7% to 31.7%, with 174 of 227 Election Day precincts reporting. In Calvert, Chaffee led by 30 votes, 8,131 to 8,101 18,806 to 14,965, or 55.5% to 44.2%. Boafo, a Prince George’s delegate endorsed by Hoyer, won a 24-candidate Democratic primary in June.
General Assembly. Calvert is split among three legislative districts. These are Calvert’s votes only; each district also includes parts of other counties, except where districtwide totals are noted.
- Senate District 27: Republican Al Larsen
6,41614,800, Democrat Kevin M. Harris6,29911,712 in Calvert. Districtwide, Harris led 61.5% to 38.4% with 26 of 34 precincts reporting. - Senate District 29:
Democrat Chuck Borges 1,951, Republican Jack Bailey 1,580Republican Jack Bailey 3,712, Democrat Chuck Borges 3,574 in Calvert. Districtwide, Bailey led 57.7% to 42.3% with all 30 precincts reporting (voter guide). - House District 27B: Republican Dan L. Thomas
2,4035,035, Democrat Jeffrie E. Long Jr.2,3364,375 (voter guide). - House District 27C: Republican Del. Mark N. Fisher
4,1089,966, Democrat Jennifer M. Davidson3,8657,131 (voter guide). - House District 29C:
Democrat Shaara Watts 1,886, Republican Todd B. Morgan 1,630Republican Todd B. Morgan 3,793, Democrat Shaara Watts 3,448 in Calvert; across the Calvert and St. Mary’s parts of the district, Morgan led 9,824 to 6,680 (voter guide).
Statewide ballot questions
Voters statewide decided three proposed amendments to the Maryland Constitution, described here by the State Board of Elections. Calvert had no local questions. Statewide results below are with 306 1,585 of 1,979 precincts reporting.
- Question 1, requiring the governor’s budget to fund collective bargaining agreements with state employees, including terms set by a neutral decision-maker:
74.8%74.7% for statewide;63.4%61.3% for in Calvert. - Question 2, allowing temporary substitute members on the Commission on Judicial Disabilities:
67.9%66.9% for statewide;54.5%50.4% for in Calvert. - Question 3, letting the General Assembly give the Supreme Court of Maryland original jurisdiction over congressional maps and stating that the constitution sets no criteria for congressional boundaries:
60.9%60.0% for statewide;52.2%56.8% against in Calvert.
What ‘unofficial’ means
All results in this story are unofficial and come from the State Board of Elections’ Calvert County results page. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 that arrive after Election Day, along with provisional ballots, are counted at later canvasses this month and can shift close races. The new commissioners and other county officials take office in December.
Updates and corrections
- 10:55 p.m. Nov. 3: Updated all results to the State Board of Elections count as of 10:50 p.m., with all 17 Calvert Election Day precincts reporting. Election Day votes reversed the early Democratic leads in commissioner Districts 1 and 3; Republicans Mike Hart and Catherine M. Grasso now lead. The early leads reported at 9:11 p.m. reflected only early and mail-in ballots. Earlier figures are shown struck through.
