David Blair regains lead in Montgomery County Executive race

Incumbent Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich fell behind challenger David Blair in the Democratic primary election results Monday. After another day of counting mail-in votes, Blair moved back into the lead with 42,705 total votes (39.33%) as of 11:00 PM Monday night, and Elrich dropped to second place with 42,571 votes (39.20%). Elrich continues to lead in mail-in votes, but enough came in from Blair-friendly precincts yesterday to put him back on top.

As you can see, the vote remains too close to call with only 134 votes currently separating the two men, and the total number of mail-in ballots that will have to be counted before a final tally is still unknown. There will also be provisional ballots to be examined, and you can bet those are going to be scrutinized even more closely with the tightness of this race.

Please note, there will be no counting of votes today. It is a scheduled day off for volunteers, according to the Board of Elections calendar. Canvassing will resume at the Germantown campus of Montgomery College on Wednesday. So another day of suspense, and this time, it is Blair supporters who are feeling a boost of optimism.

Indecent exposure in King Farm area of Rockville

An indecent exposure incident was reported to Rockville City police Saturday morning, July 23, 2022, in the King Farm community. The incident was reported on an unspecified block of Watkins Overlook at 6:30 AM. That street runs alongside King Farm Stream Valley Park.

Rockville construction site burglarized

Rockville City police responded to a report of a burglary at a home construction site in the Lincoln Park area yesterday morning. The burglary was reported in the 300 block of Frederick Avenue. Officers found evidence of forced entry at the scene. It is believed the burglary occurred between 7:00 PM Saturday and 7:13 AM Sunday.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan accuses Donald Trump of "collusion" with national Democrats in Dan Cox victory

After taking a pounding from President Donald Trump since the blowout victory of Trump's chosen Republican candidate in the Maryland governor race, current Gov. Larry Hogan (R) made the rounds of Sunday talk shows to fire back. Hogan reiterated on CNN his belief that Cox will not win in November, and made an unsubtantiated new charge that Trump colluded with national Democrats to secure the nomination for Cox. 

There is no evidence of such collusion, and Hogan did not provide any on the program. CNN host Jake Tapper joined Hogan in falsely accusing Cox of being a QAnon supporter. "He embraced the QAnon insanity," Tapper said of Cox at the outset of his interview with Hogan. In fact, Cox has never spoken of QAnon during his campaign, much less "embraced" it. 

Cox's newly-nominated Democratic opponent Wes Moore called Cox "dangerous" for Maryland on Saturday, but did not employ the QAnon attack, instead pointing to Cox's "allegiance" to Trump. Cox responded that,"returning power to the people and ending the mandates Moore wishes to force upon us permanently is not dangerous, it is called freedom." 

Democratic gubernatorial nominee
Wes Moore; Gov. Larry Hogan (R) would
not commit to supporting Moore despite
saying he won't vote for the GOP nominee

Hogan has said he will not vote for Cox in November, but would not commit to voting for Moore on CNN Sunday. He was widely criticized for announcing he had voted for the late Ronald Reagan in the 2020 election, rather than supporting Trump's opponent, Joe Biden. Hogan may simply be out of touch with Maryland Republicans, who also nominated Michael Peroutka for Attorney General last Tuesday. Peroutka has been endorsed by Cox and shares his positions against pandemic "lockdowns, mandates, and violations of parental and medical rights." But Peroutka handily defeated moderate Republican James Shalleck, without any spending on his behalf by the Democratic Governors Association.

Photos via CNN (top)/Wes Moore for Governor

Elrich maintains slim lead over Blair in Montgomery County Executive race as counting continues

Marc Elrich is still ahead of David Blair in the Democratic Montgomery County Executive race, as mail-in ballots continue to favor the incumbent over his businessman challenger. As of 11:00 PM last night, Elrich has 38,859 votes (39.36%) and Blair is extremely close behind at 38,583 (39.08%). That means it's still anybody's game, but Elrich voters' spirits surely are buoyed by another consecutive day of mail-in counting going his way. Today will be a day of suspended suspense - and one of rest for the volunteers doing the hard work - as the Montgomery County Board of Elections canvassing schedule shows Sunday, July 24, as a day off from counting.

Car stolen from Rockville townhome

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a stolen car at a Rockville townhome community yesterday morning. The vehicle was reported stolen from a residential parking lot in the 14900 block of Forest Landing Circle, off Muddy Branch Road. It is believed the vehicle was stolen sometime between 10:00 PM Thursday and 10:00 AM on Friday.

Photo courtesy Google Maps

Marc Elrich overtakes David Blair in Montgomery County Executive race as vote counting continues

Incumbent Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has, temporarily at least, moved ahead of challenger David Blair in the Democratic primary race, thanks to the second-day results from mail-in ballots. Blair had led in early voting and Election Day balloting, but Elrich gained and passed him as mail-in ballots were counted. 

Updated numbers released by the Montgomery County Board of Elections at 11:00 PM last night show Elrich with 35,300 votes (39.30%) and Blair with 35,004 (38.97%). Whether the trend will continue is not possible to say. On the one hand, mail-in voters might favor Elrich, and he could maintain his new lead; on the other, the precincts counted might have simply been Elrich strongholds, to be overturned by Blair-won precincts as counting continues. Enough uncounted votes remain for either man to win at this point.