Mid-term primary election brings some expected, some unexpected results

Senator Steve Hershey along with Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Jack Wilson were spotted visiting the polling place in Chester during early morning voting, greeting voters as they drove into the parking lot.

According to Hershey, who has been visiting polling places on the Eastern Shore and around Maryland since early voting began on July 7, Tuesday had been the busiest day by far.

However, Wilson noted he still wasn’t seeing as big of a turn out as he did back during the June 2018 primaries, crediting the source of low voter turnout to July being a popular vacation season.

According to the State Board of Elections, 7,835 voters — just 20% of those eligible — cast ballots on Election Day.

Following the rest of the state, the choice for Republican governor candidate by Queen Anne’s voters is Dan Cox, who alongside his Stevensville running mate Gordana Schifanelli will likely face off against Democratic candidate Wes Moore. (With 98% of precincts reporting Moore to lead the race, Tom Perez remains a close second.)

Voters in Queen Anne’s favored Peter Franchot to win the gubernatorial primary for Democratic choice for governor, but statewide Franchot fell short, claiming just shy of 20 percent of the in-person vote.

In the November general election, voters will see Republican challenger Chris Chaffee face off against incumbent U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen. Incumbent Andy Harris will be up against Democratic challenger Heather Mizeur for District 1 Representative in Congress.

In the July 19 primary, Chaffee and Mizeur easily led their races in Queen Anne’s County and across the state.

Republican Barry Glassman will face Democrat Brooke Lierman in the race for State Comptroller and Michael Peroutka (R) will face Anthony Brown (D) in the contest for attorney general.

The Maryland Senate, District 36 race saw incumbent Republican Steve Hershey challenged by Rick Bowers and Heather Sinclair. Hershey won his race with 65% of the vote. Incumbents for District 36 House of Delegates Jay A. Jacobs (Kent), Jeff Ghrist (Caroline), and Steve Arentz (Queen Anne’s) — were unchallenged.

Although not on the ballot in Queen Anne’s County, another closely followed race on the Mid-Shore was the neighboring District 37 race for State Senator. Del. Johnny Mautz challenged and won against incumbent Sen. Addie Eckardt. Mautz will face Democratic candidate Naomi Hyman in November.

Locally, incumbent County Commissioner At Large Jim Moran (R) ran unopposed. He faces Democrat Merle Joy Schwartz.

County Commissioner for District 1 Republican incumbent Jack Wilson is predicted to win over Howard Dean. Wilson would face Democrat Marion Grier in the general election.

County Commissioner District 2 Republican Patrick McLaughlin led the race over incumbent Steve Wilson with 57% of the vote. McLaughlin will run against Democrat Andrea Alduino in November.

County Commissioner District 3 Republican and incumbent Phil Dumenil also ran unopposed. Dumenil will appear on the November ballot against Democratic challenger Lynn Mason.

County Commissioner District 4 incumbent Republican Chris Corchiarino beat challenger Richard C. Nuzback with 69% of the vote and will face off against Democrat Deborah Krueger this fall.

Unchallenged races in Queen Anne’s County will see State’s Attorney Lance Richardson and Sheriff Gary Hofmann remain in office, alongside Clerk of the Circuit Court Katherine Hager and Register of Wills Laura Cook.

Four candidates ran for the Board of Education At Large. The non-partisan position is a runoff for the general election. With 34% of the vote Alexis Capes will face Kent Laing who received 29% of the vote, in November.

Only two candidates filed for District 1, Church Hill: incumbent Shannon Bent and Chris Blanton, they automatically move on to the general election.

Queen Anne’s County served 3,493 requests for mail-in ballots. Of those, 1,857 had been returned by July 18.

Editor’s note: this story will be updated with any changes from the counting of mail-in and provisional ballots. Reporters Megan Loock and Doug Bishop contributed to this article.