Results for 2022 Democratic Primary!

Talbot Democrats,

After an initial review of rough numbers, we are very pleased to report that Talbot County Democrats have surpassed our record turnout from the 'Blue Wave' Midterm Primary Election of 2018! In addition, Talbot County continues to lead the State in overall turnout percentages. Of course, this data does not include any provisional ballots or any mailed ballots that were postmarked last Tuesday and have yet to arrive, but our local turnout will only increase as those additional ballots are counted.

I want to thank each and every one of you for stepping up to support our local candidates or run as one of them.

Specific kudos goes to MD Dems Organizing Director Justin Butler for his guidance, leadership, and "being Talbot's greatest export since blue crabs and confederate monuments;" Judy Wixted, our Field Director, who is my right hand; and Naomi Hyman, who serves as both our Vice Chair and candidate for State Senate. I should also note that we have incredible, invested Party leaders in MD Dems Chair Yvette Lewis and Executive Director Eva Lewis. These two, in addition to Justin, have been making sure the rural counties, such as ours, are a priority and focus of the Party and our statewide candidates. I think their work and commitment has been clearly observed in the number of events we have all attended in support of candidates up and down the ballot and all over the Eastern Shore!

While the election is not over until every ballot is counted, I have seen enough to feel confident providing the following update(s) and results:


Turnout Update: As I stated, we are very pleased at this point with our current turnout. These numbers do not include provisional ballots or mailed ballots not yet received, so the raw numbers can only increase while the percentage changes.

• 2022: ~4,116 Democrats (~38.05%)

• 2018: 3,641 (36.19%)

In a year with Republican energy and a difficult outlook for Democratic candidates, we are showing turnout trends that can deliver Democratic county council victories in November!


Results Update: While there are provisional and mailed ballots yet to be counted, the elections have been decided for most of our candidates. I’ve seen enough to confidently provide the following results:

• Governor: Wes Moore is our nominee for Governor of Maryland! Moore carried Talbot County, the home of Frederick Douglass, with over 35% of the vote and is on track to become the first Black governor for our state! We will have Moore’s back when he takes on Trump devotee, Dan Cox, who is a supporter of the January 6 insurrection and an anti-business, anti-liberty extremist.
  

• Comptroller: Delegate Brooke Lierman is our nominee for Comptroller! Her Republican competition is so irrelevant I don’t even have anything snarky to say about this race. She’s going to make a fantastic Comptroller and will be the first female to hold this esteemed office!
  

• Attorney General: Congressman Anthony Brown will follow in the great steps of our current Attorney General, Brian Frosh, after winning the Democratic nomination. A veteran, our former Lieutenant Governor, and the current congressman for Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District, Brown will be Maryland’s first Black attorney general when we elect him in November! His opponent is dangerous and has been described as a ‘neo-Confederate’ by the esteemed Southern Poverty Law Center.
  

• U.S. Senator: Incumbent Senator Chris Van Hollen is our nominee for the General Election in November! Congratulate him yourself when he comes to address the Talbot Democratic Women’s Club at Idlewild Park on August 6!
  

• MD-01: Delegate Heather Mizeur is our nominee for MD’s First Congressional District! A fierce advocate for the people, Mizeur takes on our incumbent congressman, who has received a (dis)honorable mention by the January 6 Committee, tried to bring a loaded firearm on the House floor after the insurrection, and attempted to physically fight a Democratic lawmaker on the House floor (who is a former NFL linebacker FYI).
  

• Uncontested Elections: The following candidates were uncontested and will advance to November (including the School Board candidates we are supporting that were not on the ballot in July):
  

  • State Senate District 37: Naomi Hyman

  • State House of Delegates District 37B: Susan Delean-Botkin

  • Talbot County State's Attorney: Ellen Barry Grunden

  • Circuit Court Clerk: Nicole Caudell

  • Register of Wills: Patti Campen

  • Orphans' Court Judge: Phil Foster
    

• Notable Republican Races: Republican Delegate Johnny Mautz is highly likely to win the nomination for State Senate District 37 over incumbent Republican Addie Eckardt. Joe Coale, who is related to Fox News' Greta Von Whatever, will be the Republican nominee for Talbot County State's Attorney; in this race, we have an out-of-control Democratic incumbent who, in what I can only describe as a misogynistic tantrum in response to a 'changing of the guard' primary challenge, was the initial recruiter of this Republican candidate from Caroline County. Our fantastic public servant who has served as Deputy State's Attorney for Talbot County for nearly 18 years, Ellen Barry Grunden, will need all the help she can get to ensure we have an experienced, effective, dedicated, and local leader at the helm of our State's Attorney office. I am disappointed to be seeing this type of infighting (against his own Deputy of nearly two decades) from a once distinguished public servant, but I feel it is necessary for this to be said and made public, so that we can make this race a priority. In the Delegate's race, incumbent Chris Adams survived a challenge from a Wicomico Republican and that the second Republican nominee will be Tom Hutchinson of Dorchester.

• Talbot County Council: What you have all been waiting and reading for! I am so appreciative of all our candidates who sought to represent their communities; I am also very proud to introduce your great slate of experienced, passionate, and dedicated leaders that we will elect to the Talbot County Council in November!
  

  • Keasha Haythe

  • Pete Lesher

  • Michele Dappert

  • Phil Jackson

  • Scott Kane
    

• Democratic Central Committee: Every midterm election, the local Democratic Central Committee (your Talbot Democratic Party) is elected. This group is the entity that recruits, trains, and organizes Democratic volunteers and candidates for local and statewide office. We also serve as your representatives for the Maryland Democratic Party. Talbot punches above its weight; not only is Talbot native Justin Butler the Organizing Director of the MD Democratic Party, this past year I had the honor of nominating Judy Wixted, our Talbot Dems Field Director, to be 2nd Vice Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, a role she has served in with distinction!
  
  Your gender-balanced central committee, of which the term begins the week after the November election, will be comprised of:
  
  Females: Naomi Hyman, Nancy Andrew, Dina Daly, Judy Wixted, and Molly Martell
  
  Males: Phil Jackson, Scott Kane, Patrick Firth, Walter Chase, Bob Hyman