Primary Election Wrap-up 2022
With the 2022 primary election in the books, the candidates for the November midterm elections are set.
Interestingly, most major primary races resulted in clear-cut winners early in the counting. This belied the worries of some who feared that a ruling by Gov. Larry Hogan to postpone counting of mail-in ballots until two days after polls had closed would lead to long delays in deciding winners in close races.
Vote totals in this report are from the Maryland State Board of Elections website as of July 25. While these results are unofficial, there are not enough outstanding votes to make a change likely in the result of any major race.
The Republican gubernatorial primary was decided on Election Day, with the Trump-endorsed team of Dan Cox and Gordana Schifanelli getting 53% of the votes. Kelly Schulz and Jeff Woolford were second, with 42%. Two other candidates finished far behind. Although she never pulled ahead with the votes counted after election day, it was not until July 29 that Schulz — who was endorsed by Gov. Hogan — issued what amounted to a concession speech.
Cox had sponsored buses to carry his supporters to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a controversial move, the Democratic Governors Association bought TV ads to publicize Cox’s radical ideas, reasoning that he would be easier for the eventual Democratic winner to beat in the general election. On the Eastern Shore, the Cox team carried every county except Kent, where Schulz and Woolford were still ahead by 148 votes as of July 25.
On the Democratic side, Wes Moore and Aruna Miller captured the nomination with 33% of votes. Moore, a bestselling author, nonprofit CEO, and TV personality who was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey secured his victory with heavy majorities in Baltimore City and Baltimore and Prince George’s counties. If elected in November, he will be the state’s first Black governor.
Trailing Moore and Miller were Tom Perez and Shannon Snead with 28% and Comptroller Peter Franchot and Monique Anderson-Walker with 21%. Seven other Democratic gubernatorial candidates received less than 5%.
Of local interest, the Franchot slate won in every county on the Shore, often by a large margin. This is undoubtedly because of Franchot’s frequent visits to rural counties in his capacity as comptroller, a practice that made him a familiar face in state government.
In other statewide races, the November election for comptroller will pit Republican Barry Glassman against Democrat Brooke Elizabeth Lierman, who defeated Timothy J. Adams by 65% to 35%. The election for attorney general will see Republican Michael Anthony Peroutka opposed by Democrat Anthony G. Brown, the former lieutenant governor and current Fourth District congressman. Both won their primaries with just under 60% of the vote.
In the Democratic primary for U.S. senator, incumbent Chris Van Hollen received more than 80% of the vote against challenger Michelle L. Smith. On the Republican side, Chris Chafee led a field of 10 with 21% of the vote.
The District 1 congressional election will pit Democrat Heather Mizeur against incumbent Republican Andy Harris. Harris ran unopposed, while Mizeur defeated David Harding by a 2 to 1 margin. Mizeur won decisively in all counties in the district, which includes parts of Baltimore and Harford counties as well as the nine Shore counties.
The primary also featured races for other offices, including county boards of education, county commissioners, and other local officials.
Be sure to follow Common Sense for coverage of all the important political news affecting the Eastern Shore heading into this fall’s campaigns and the November election – and be sure to vote!
Peter Heck is a Chestertown-based writer and editor, who spent 10 years at the Kent County News and three more with the Chestertown Spy. He is the author of 10 novels and co-author of four plays, a book reviewer for Asimov’s and Kirkus Reviews, and an incorrigible guitarist.
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