PRINCE FREDERICK — Republicans lead every seat on the Calvert County Board of Commissioners after Tuesday’s general election, and three of the five members are in line to be new to the board, according to unofficial results from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
With all 17 Election Day precincts counted, along with early votes and the mail-in ballots processed so far, Republicans Patti Stueckler and Jason Scaggs held the top two spots in the race for two at-large seats. District 1 Commissioner Mike Hart and District 3 Commissioner Catherine M. Grasso led their Democratic challengers by more than 2,000 votes each, and Republican Kenneth B. Lee was unopposed in District 2, according to the state’s Calvert results page, last updated at 9:21 a.m. Wednesday.
The results are not final. Mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day and provisional ballots still have to be counted, and the county board of elections will not certify results until later this month. None of the commissioner margins is close enough that the remaining ballots would be expected to change the outcome, but no race is official until certification.
A board reshaped in June
Most of the change on Calvert’s board was decided in the June primary, when three sitting Republican commissioners lost. At-large Commissioners Todd Ireland and Earl “Buddy” Hance finished behind Stueckler and Scaggs, and District 2 Commissioner Mark C. Cox Sr. lost to Lee, according to the Maryland Association of Counties and the Chronicle’s primary coverage.
If Tuesday’s results hold, Hart and Grasso would return and Stueckler, Scaggs and Lee would join them. The five-member board sets Calvert’s budget and property tax rate and decides zoning and land-use questions. Three commissioners must live in the district they represent and two serve at large, but all five are elected by voters countywide.
| Race | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At large (2 seats) | Patti Stueckler | Republican | 15,757 | 25.9% |
| At large | Jason Scaggs | Republican | 14,551 | 23.9% |
| At large | Judy Pedersen | Democrat | 12,725 | 20.9% |
| At large | Antoine S. White | Democrat | 12,677 | 20.8% |
| At large | Steve Jones | Unaffiliated | 5,095 | 8.4% |
| District 1 | Mike Hart | Republican | 18,464 | 54.5% |
| District 1 | Ethan Cox | Democrat | 15,331 | 45.3% |
| District 2 | Kenneth B. Lee | Republican | 23,007 | 95.4% |
| District 3 | Catherine M. Grasso | Republican | 18,044 | 53.6% |
| District 3 | Michael Bennett | Democrat | 15,571 | 46.3% |
How Election Day flipped the early count
When the first results posted Tuesday night, Democrats Ethan Cox and Michael Bennett led Hart and Grasso, and the at-large race was a near four-way tie, the Chronicle reported in its live results coverage. Those early numbers included only early votes and mail-in ballots counted before Election Day.
The three ways of voting broke very differently. In District 1, Cox won mail-in ballots 2,036 to 950, while Hart won early voting 7,154 to 6,104 and Election Day 10,360 to 7,191. The District 3 race followed the same pattern, with Bennett carrying mail-in ballots and Grasso carrying both in-person counts.
Election Day was the largest share of the vote. In the governor’s race, about 17,600 Calvert voters cast ballots on Election Day, compared with about 13,300 early votes and about 3,000 mail-in ballots counted so far.
School board and courthouse offices
Lisa Grenis and Jana Post led the four-candidate race for two at-large seats on the nonpartisan Calvert County Board of Education. Post held second place by 1,198 votes over Dona Cox Ostenso. That is the closest local contest in Calvert, and the late ballots could narrow it: Ostenso and Anne Jones each won about twice as many mail-in votes as Post.
| Candidate | Early | Election Day | Mail-in | Total | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Grenis | 5,748 | 7,722 | 816 | 14,286 | 27.6% |
| Jana Post | 5,394 | 7,161 | 715 | 13,270 | 25.6% |
| Dona Cox Ostenso | 4,812 | 5,815 | 1,445 | 12,072 | 23.3% |
| Anne Jones | 4,804 | 5,635 | 1,415 | 11,854 | 22.9% |
The only countywide row office with two candidates went to a Democrat. Margaret H. Phipps led Republican Mark S. Lynch for Register of Wills, 18,714 to 14,758, or 55.9% to 44.1%.
State’s Attorney Bob Harvey, Sheriff Ricky Cox, Treasurer Amanda N. Dolina and Clerk of the Circuit Court Jourdan Sturdivant, all Republicans, had no opponent on the ballot. Three candidates ran for three Orphans’ Court seats: Republicans Leslie M. Downs and Ted LeBlanc and Democrat Rick Piereck. Judge Dan Friedman of the Appellate Court of Maryland was winning retention, with 81.9% of Calvert voters voting yes.
Calvert backed Republicans who lost districtwide
Calvert voters favored Republicans in every state and federal race on their ballot, but several of those candidates trailed once votes from Prince George’s and Charles counties were added.
- Governor: Republican Dan Cox carried Calvert 55.6% to 40.3%. Statewide, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore led Cox 62.6% to 33.2% with 1,968 of 1,979 precincts reporting.
- Congress, 5th District: Republican Chris Chaffee of Calvert won the county 55.5% to 44.2%. Across the district, Democrat Adrian Boafo led 68.5% to 30.9% with all 227 precincts reporting, in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer.
- Senate District 27: Republican Al Larsen of Calvert led in the county, 14,800 to 11,712. Districtwide, Democrat Kevin M. Harris led 64.2% to 35.7% with all precincts in.
- House District 27B: Republican Dan L. Thomas led in Calvert, 5,035 to 4,375, but Democrat Jeffrie E. Long Jr. led districtwide, 66.6% to 33.3% (voter guide).
In districts drawn mostly or entirely in Southern Maryland, Republicans led. Del. Mark N. Fisher led Democrat Jennifer M. Davidson in House District 27C, which lies entirely in Calvert, 58.2% to 41.7% (voter guide). Republican Todd B. Morgan led Democrat Shaara Watts in House District 29C, which spans Calvert and St. Mary’s, 59.4% to 40.4% (voter guide). In Senate District 29, Republican Jack Bailey led Democrat Chuck Borges 57.7% to 42.3% (voter guide).
A split on the ballot questions
Calvert parted with the rest of the state on one of the three proposed constitutional amendments, which were described by the State Board of Elections. Statewide, all three were passing.
Calvert voters backed Question 1, which requires the governor’s budget to fund collective bargaining agreements with state employees, 61.3% to 38.7%. Question 2, allowing temporary substitute members on the Commission on Judicial Disabilities, passed in Calvert by just 254 votes. Calvert rejected Question 3, which lets the General Assembly give the Supreme Court of Maryland original jurisdiction over congressional maps, 56.8% to 43.3%. Statewide, Question 3 was passing with 60.1%.
What happens next
The Calvert County Board of Elections lists a canvass of mail-in ballots received after Election Day on Thursday, Nov. 5, a provisional ballot canvass on Thursday, Nov. 12, and a final mail-in canvass on Friday, Nov. 13, all at the Community Resources Building at 30 Duke St. in Prince Frederick. The board says more dates may be added depending on how many ballots arrive.
Under the state election calendar, mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive by 10 a.m. Nov. 13. Local boards begin certifying results that day, and the State Board of Canvassers is scheduled to certify statewide results Dec. 3.
All results in this story are unofficial. Full race-by-race returns are in the Chronicle’s Calvert election results page.
