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Update: John Olszewski, Jr. won the Democratic primary race over Jim Brochin by a margin of 9 votes. Due to the narrow margin of victory, Brochin will be entitled to request a recount. As of yet there has been no official word from Mr. Brochin’s campaign regarding a request for a recount.
Jonny O, as the former delegate likes to be referred to, will face the Republican primary winner Al Redmer in the November general election. Redmer is supported by Governor Larry Hogan.
Once again, the – Jim Smith effect – had a profound impact on this race.
The Baltimore Post will take an in-depth look into the role the former county executive and land development attorney had on this down to the wire race.
The Baltimore Post wishes to express our sincere condolences to the victims and families of the terrible tragedy involving The Capitol Gazette.
Folks, it looks like things will go down to the proverbial wire in what could be one of the closest races in this county’s history.
According to the Maryland State Board of Elections, the race between Maryland State Democratic Sen. Jim Brochin and John Olszewski, Jr., Johnny O’s early lead of 346 votes is now down to just 42 votes.
The latest vote tallies show 27,270 for Johnny O vs. 27,228 for Jim Brochin. With potentially thousands of absentee and provisional votes yet still be counted, that leaves the race between the two Democrats virtually tied.
Also, according to election officials, the final tally will not be known until the first week in July. In order for the absentee and provisional votes to be counted, they must be received by July 6.
Vicki Almond is 1,039 votes behind Johnny O, which we believe statistically closes the door on her bid for the county executive slot.
An interesting development in this primary involved the 2,074 ballots cast for the third Democrat in this race, Kevin Marron. This is Mr. Marron’s second attempt at running for county executive on the Democratic side. Mr. Marron’s campaign coffers totaled just over $1,000, which in our opinion did not make him a viable candidate for the office.
We wonder if the 2,074 votes cast for Mr. Marron could have swayed things for the three other viable candidates.
Talk about a proverbial spoiler in this hotly contested race. No one will ever know what the outcome could have been had the votes for Mr. Marron gone elsewhere.
What does this mean for the two candidates, Brochin and Olszewski? A lot more waiting and wondering.
For those looking to keep an eye on the numbers, results are posted on the Maryland State Board of Elections website under Baltimore County local elections, which can be accessed at the top of The Baltimore Post’s front page. In order to gain the most up-to-date and accurate numbers, just click the refresh button to see any further changes in this dynamic race for Baltimore County Executive.
The general tendency, according to some political pundits, is that the majority of absentee and provisional ballots tend to swing more toward the moderate to conservative point of view. We believe this is why the gap has narrowed to just 42 votes between the two candidates.
Until all the votes are counted, all voters can do is sit back and watch in what will be a nail-biting conclusion.
