Donald Trump rips into "RINO" Larry Hogan, gloats over Dan Cox win in Maryland at Arizona rally

President Donald Trump was in Arizona last night to campaign for Republican governor candidate Kari Lake, and U.S. Senate hopeful Blake Masters. But addressing a crowd of thousands at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Trump had Maryland on his mind. Specifically, the humiliating defeat his chosen GOP candidate, Dan Cox, had inflicted on Trump nemesis Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in the gubernatorial primary race there this past Tuesday night. Cox defeated Hogan-endorsed Kelly Schulz 54.05% to 41.83%.

Trump delivered several bodyslams to Hogan in last night's speech. He compared Hogan to retiring "RINO" Arizona governor Doug Ducey (R), ridiculed his physical appearance, needled the pre-election Cox skeptics on Fox News, and declared he had put a quick end to Hogan's rumored 2024 presidential run.

"We had a big win, though, you saw that in Maryland, right?" Trump began, digressing from a sales pitch on Masters' merits. "You have a RINO governor there, very much like Ducey, actually - just not as good-looking. Actually, Ducey's not great, but he's better looking than this guy...Hogan - Larry Hogan. Do you ever hear of him? Real RINO."

"And he supported somebody, and everybody said - I was watching Fox News, and they were saying, 'Oh, no, no,' the person he was supporting [Kelly Schulz], they have it made. And they said, one of the people said, 'Well, but this other person, Dan Cox, not a lot of people had heard about, but he's very good,' He said, 'Dan Cox has the Trump endorsement.' 'Well, no, I know, but this person has been around, she's gonna win.'...Dan Cox won by 19 points! And he'll be great. So much for Larry Hogan's presidential ambition. All he has to do is look into a mirror, and he'll say, 'It's not gonna work.'" 

Photo courtesy C-SPAN

Tom Perez on media calling Maryland governor race for Wes Moore: "Not so fast"

A number of news outlets declared Wes Moore the victor in the Democratic Maryland governor race today, and the campaign of Tom Perez is pushing back. "Put simply, it’s too early to call this race," Perez campaign manager Sean Downey said in a statement. "Yesterday was the first day of counting for the 212,962 recorded and received vote-by-mail ballots and it was a huge day for Tom Perez. He flipped multiple counties from election day and made major vote gains statewide, all while as many as 80,000 votes remain in Montgomery County — the largest remaining vote share and Tom's incredibly strong base."

Perez has led the race decisively in Montgomery County since vote-counting began Tuesday night, at times hold double the number of votes Moore had in the jurisdiction. A resident and former county councilmember in Montgomery, Perez is now clearly counting on a hometown mail-in vote bonanza to even up the statewide race.

Moore has led statewide in the early voting and Election Day counts. In addition to the over 200,000 mail-in ballots, there are also 15,630 provisional ballots to be reviewed and counted. The winner will face off against Green Party candidate Nancy Wallace, Libertarian candidate David Lashar, and Republican nominee Dan Cox in November.

PGA Tour Superstore sets opening date in Rockville

The new PGA Tour Superstore at 5100 Nicholson Lane at White Flint Plaza finally has a tee-off date. Your big box golf store adventure will begin on Saturday, July 30, 2022 with a grand opening weekend celebration. There will be $30,000 in golf and tennis giveaways at the store. The PGA Tour Superstore will fill the void left by the closure of the nearby Golf Galaxy, which closed in 2018.

Photo courtesy PGA Tour Superstore

Slapfish encounters rough seas in Rockville

The seas appear to have turned rough for Slapfish at 12033 Rockville Pike. A sub-lease opportunity is being offered for the fast casual seafood restaurant at the Montrose Crossing shopping center. Commercial real estate firm KNLB is marketing the sublease as a "discreet listing," with the admonition, "Please do not disturb tenant," in the marketing brochure. Slapfish opened at Montrose Crossing in 2018, and remains open for business.

Waters appear choppy for the brand beyond Rockville. A Slapfish location on M Street in Washington, D.C. has closed, and their Ballston restaurant closed last December. The founders of the Huntington Beach, California-based chain sold their interest to their partnering investment firm two weeks ago. According to Nation's Restaurant News, 30 new Slapfish locations planned for Arkansas and Texas have been canceled.

Image via KNLB

Rockville police arrest suspect in Rockville Town Square shooting

Rockville police have made an arrest in the July 15, 2022 shooting on Gibbs Street at Rockville Town Square. Najee Emani Hardy-Estwick, 23, address unknown, was arrested by RCPD Investigators on Tuesday, and was charged with attempted First-Degree Murder, First Degree Assault Reckless Endangerment, Possession of a Firearm and other firearm related offenses. Hardy-Estwick was taken to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) where he is being held at this time. He is accused of shooting an adult male three times during an altercation; the victim remains hospitalized, but is expected to recover from his wounds.

Shelves still not stocked at new Amazon Fresh store in Rockville (Photos)

The interior of the new Amazon Fresh store opening soon at 15790 Shady Grove Road on the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg is complete, but merchandise is still not on the shelves and displays. I do see many shipping boxes filled with adhesive labels for price guns inside the front entrance. That is clearly a necessary step toward stocking the shelves. 

While we are waiting for the opening, there are two new in-store benefits for Amazon Prime members at Amazon Fresh grocery stores, including this one when it opens. The first is 20% off "everyday essential" items year-round. Second, is 20% off on a rotating selection of prepared foods, that will change about once a week. You can identify eligible items by their blue bubble tag that reads, "Prime Member Exclusive Deal."

David Blair remains ahead of Marc Elrich in too-close-to-call Montgomery County Executive race

David Blair

Counting of mail-in ballots

to begin today

Despite the counting of all early voting and election day ballots, a winner cannot yet be declared in the Democratic race for Montgomery County Executive. David Blair has led the contest by a thin margin for most of the hours since the polls closed Tuesday night. As of right now, Blair leads incumbent Marc Elrich 39.63% to 38%. But more than 20,000 mail-in ballots remain to be counted, and that tabulation will begin this morning. 

Third-place finisher Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer conceded the race in an interview with Bethesda Beat yesterday, and later on Twitter. "Earlier today I conceded," Riemer tweeted. "I did so full of gratitude and optimism. Gratitude to our incredible supporters. Optimism because of what we accomplished together - Ushering in a new era of progressivism in our County. Our work continues — to say YES to progress!" 

The full impact of Riemer's campaign won't be known until a winner is declared. His respectable current 20.40% showing bests any of Elrich and Blair's 2018 competitors in the executive race. Businessman Peter James is at 1.98% in last place as of this morning, and Republican Reardon Sullivan has decisively won his primary for County Executive.

Leaders in the Democratic County Council races as of this morning are as follows:

At-Large: Evan Glass (18.26%), Will Jawando (17.27%), Gabe Albornoz (15.50%), Laurie-Anne Sayles (13.39%)

District 1: Andrew Friedson (100%) [unopposed]

District 2: Marilyn Balcombe (46.98%)

District 3: Sidney Katz (57.98%)

District 4: Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart (44.52%)

District 5: Kristin Mink (40%)

District 6: Natali Fani Gonzalez (53.55%)

District 7: Dawn Luedtke (31.47%)

All Democratic Council primary winners except Friedson will face Republican opponents in the November election: 

Christopher Fiotes, Lenard Lieber and Dwight Patel (At-Large); Dan Cuda (District 2); George Hernandez (District 3); Cheryl Riley (District 4); Kate Woody (District 5); Viet H. Doan (District 6); and Harold C. Maldonado (District 7).