A week later, Moore will head to the Hamptons for a second fundraiser hosted by Dilation Capital hedge fund managing partner Brian Eizenstat and C-Street Advisory Group CEO Jon Henes. CNBC reports that ticket prices are the same for that event. Moore is only one of many gubernatorial and presidential candidates heading where the money is this month; Stacey Abrams, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Ben Sasse and Lee Zeldin all have similar events planned in the Hamptons.
Moore's travel itinerary has caught the attention of his Republican opponent, Dan Cox. In a fundraising email to supporters, Cox said that while Moore "is raising money from the international law firms and big pharmaceuticals and is in the Hamptons this month raising money from Oprah, C-Street globalists and power-hungry radicals, this week I was in the neighborhoods of West Baltimore hearing concerns of students and parents."
"After several weeks of counting and virtually all votes recorded, the Associated Press has declared this race too close to call," Blair said in the statement. "Given the extremely close margin, we will be requesting a full recount, and are hopeful that the outcome will be in our favor." The Montgomery County Board of Elections has not yet released a schedule for further canvassing or recounts. Stay tuned for updates on that.
Photo courtesy David Blair for Montgomery
"I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive," Elrich said in a statement last night. "I want to thank the voters. I love this county and care about our residents so very deeply. This primary has been a long journey (and certainly exciting). Now, with the results certain, we must work together to ensure Montgomery County remains solidly Democratic and turns out for [Democratic gubernatorial nominee] Wes Moore and our entire Democratic ticket. I look forward to continuing to work together to help...Montgomery County and all our residents succeed and thrive."
Once the count is final, Blair will have the option of requesting a free recount, due to the razor-thin margin of Elrich's victory. If Elrich prevails again in that count, he will have done what County Executive Neal Potter could not in the early 1990s. Elected in reaction to many voters' belief that developers and special interests were wielding too much power over the County government in 1990, Potter only served one term. Developers put big money behind Rockville Mayor Douglas M. Duncan (D) in the 1994 election, and Duncan served twelve years as executive.
Duncan would likely have been able to easily win again in 2006, but chose to run for governor of Maryland, before withdrawing from that race for health reasons. His successor as executive, Ike Leggett, was somewhere between Duncan and Potter on development issues. With the County political machine forming a more muscular cartel in 2002, it seized majority control over the County Council with the victory of its well-funded "End Gridlock" slate that year. The result was a dynamic of conflict between the executive and legislative branches, that only accelerated with the 2018 election of Elrich, a popular politician who has promoted responsible growth policies to limit the impact of development on existing neighborhoods and school capacity.
As we await confirmation of final results, and the likely recount, political junkies across the County have to thank both men for providing a dramatic race by each running very strong campaigns. This has certainly been exciting - and it's not over yet! But if anyone ever tells you your vote doesn't count or doesn't matter, look at this race.
