Local primary results finalized, solidifying returns and reveals newcomers

By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Political Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

After weeks of counting ballots, the Maryland State Board of Elections has finalized the state primary results.

The primary featured shocking wins throughout the local level, including Councilman Zeke Cohen’s (D-District 1) 50.92 percent win for Baltimore City Council President and Mayor Brandon M. Scott’s 52.78 percent victory. Political spectators believed it would be a close race between Scott and former Mayor Sheila Dixon, who received 38.88 percent of the vote in the end. 

“The Democratic primary highlighted what citizens want from their public servants. They want better city services, they want transparency and they want us focused on issues that matter for quality of life, like education, opportunities for youth and public safety,” said Cohen. “For me, the focus is always around building a diverse, robust coalition, delivering world-class city services and making government more accessible, proximate and transparent.”

Cohen unseated Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby by a large margin. Mosby received 23.26 percent of the votes and candidate Shannon Sneed got 25.83 percent.

“Baltimore, you’ve been with me through every win and every loss, so I simply want to say thank you,” said Mosby via X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter. “Thank you for believing in me and allowing me the privilege of serving you.”

Though most of the 14 city council members have secured their spots on the November ballot, Eric Costello (D-District 11) and Robert Stokes Sr. (D-District 12) did not.

Candidate Jermaine Jones unseated Stokes by 369 votes and political contender Zac Blanchard unseated Costello by a mere 48 votes. 

With Councilman Kristerfer Burnett (D-District 8) stepping down from the council this year, the seat opened up for others to run, including former State Delegate Bilal Ali and Paris Gray, a community outreach coordinator for Baltimore City Council District 8. Gray won with 41.41 percent of the vote, and Ali received 37.71 percent.

Blanchard, Gray and Jones are the Democratic nominees for their respective races and are in line to be the newcomers to the council. Baltimore City is a primarily Democratic region, meaning whoever wins the Democratic nomination is likely to take the seat in November.

The council could soon shrink from 14 to eight if Baltimore residents vote in favor of the referendum on the ballot this November. PEACE Baltimore, a civic engagement organization that is leading the initiative via a petition, argues that some other counties in the state have about eight or fewer districts and have about the same population as Baltimore. They also argue that taking away six of the districts would help the city save millions.

The Baltimore County Circuit Court judge slate, Judges Michael S. Barranco; Patricia DeMaio; Marc A. DeSimone; and James Rhodes also secured their spots in the November election. The group of sitting judges fought to keep their seats after the usually uncontested race became a challenge with the entrance of Robert N. Daniels, an assistant attorney general, whose name placed him second on the ballot. 

Sitting Judges Christine Marie Celeste, with 34.64 percent of the votes, and Ginina A. Jackson-Stevenson, with 30.72 percent of the vote, secured their spots in the November election for the Anne Arundel Circuit Court.

In Cecil County, Md., County Executive Danielle M. Hornberger was unseated for the Republican nomination by Adam Streight, a sergeant with the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office. Streight received 53.24 percent of the votes and Hornberger got 46.76 percent.

The general election is Nov. 5. Early voting will take place from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31.

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