Delegate Tom Hucker appears to be pulling off an upset in the District 5 race, after media coverage and a burst of developer donations suggested Evan Glass had the most momentum. Should Hucker's lead hold, his union support, roots in the progressive activist community, and a last minute message from current councilmember Marc Elrich will be among the factors that may have given him the edge.
District 4 Councilmember Nancy Navarro was unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face Republican John O'Malley in November.
In District 3, unseemly ageism attacks on Gaithersburg Mayor Sid Katz by the Washington Post, and other allies of his primary opponents, appear to have backfired - big time. Katz is squarely in the lead for Phil Andrews' old council seat, and the few voters who turned out Tuesday clearly voted for name recognition, and steady, experienced leadership over youthful exuberance.
Katz and the winner of the District 5 race will be unopposed in the November election, meaning they will be de facto incoming councilmembers-elect once voting results are final.
I don't think Hucker's win is an upset. Elrich's support was at the last minute in response to all the money Glass was collecting from real estate interests including a last minute "independent expenditure" worth tens of thousands that a candidate does not have to report.
ReplyDeleteHucker won the early voting, election day votes and so far the absentee vote. So he was ahead the whole time. Elrich's support came after the early voting. Hucker is well known to D20 residents as their State delegate.
District 5 does not have representation right now and hasn't for at least 8 months. There is a "caretaker" there who is proud of doing whatever she wants and brags about not listening to constituents. So typical of how East County residents are treated.