Politics

There are hundreds of thousands of ballots left to be canvassed in Maryland, a process that will ultimately decide a closely watched U.S. House race in the state’s 6th District. Maryland State Board of Elections officials said in a news release that more than 309,000 mail-in ballot have yet to be canvassed — a process that will resume Thursday.

It’s a girl. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and wife Hana Pugh are expecting a girl early next year, the mayor said Wednesday. The understated announcement came during an emotional news conference for the mayor. Hours earlier, Scott, first elected mayor in 2020, clinched a second term, the first time city voters have reelected a mayor to a second term in two decades.

It was overshadowed by the national party’s failure to head off another Donald Trump presidency, but Tuesday’s election again showcased the muscle of the Maryland Democratic establishment, most notably in a decisive Senate victory over the state’s popular former Republican governor. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks defeated former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to become the first Black candidate elected to the U.S. Senate in Maryland history.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said his administration will begin evaluating the impact of potential cuts to federal agencies following the apparent reelection Tuesday of former President Donald Trump. Trump’s victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has Elrich and others concerned that the Republican will use his second administration to implement a massive realignment of the federal government, which could dramatically impact Montgomery County’s budget and its residents.

Larry Hogan entered the general election race for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat with enviable popularity. As the state’s former governor, he had twice won statewide elections and had left office only two years ago with a favorability rating of 77 percent. Then he faced Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s county executive.

Johnny Olszewski Jr., the two-term Democratic Baltimore County Executive, won his congressional bid to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, besting Republican Kim Klacik. State Sen. Sarah Elfreth, a Democrat, similarly defeated Republican Robert J. Steinberger in the race for U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes’ congressional seat.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has launched an election spending data dashboard that makes it easy to see how much the two major political parties spend on campaign and committee expenditures. The Election Spending Dashboard provides public access to the federal records that track that political spending. The Johns Hopkins research team was led by political science professor Adam Sheingate, who developed the dashboard with a team of undergraduate research assistants.

Maryland voters appeared to overwhelmingly affirm their support for reproductive rights Tuesday, with early returns showing almost 74% of Marylanders voted to enshrine the right to an abortion and other reproductive freedoms into the Maryland Constitution. “Maryland voters have rightly chosen to protect their health and their futures.