Democratic Montgomery County Executive race too close to call in early election results; Sullivan walking away with GOP race

David Blair

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and his leading challenger, businessman David Blair, are in a tight race for victory in the 2022 Democratic primary tonight. Blair had staked out a slight lead in early voting and in initial results from in-person voting today, but as more precinct report totals, Elrich and Blair are neck-and-neck at 38.30% and 38.53%, respectively. Blair has led from the beginning to this point, however small the margin. County Councilmember Hans Riemer is currently in third place with a respectable 21.36%, and businessman Peter James is bringing up the rear at 1.81%.

Marc Elrich

Republican voters are showing more of a consensus in early results. Businessman Reardon Sullivan is currently cruising to victory over attorney Shelly Skolnick, with 62.83% of the vote. 120 of 258 election day precincts have been counted statewide so far.

Reardon Sullivan

Donald Trump-endorsed Dan Cox leading in GOP governor race in early Maryland election results, Perez staking lead among Democrats

President Donald Trump is showing he may be more popular now among Maryland Republicans than ever before, at least in the precincts where votes have been counted as of this hour. Trump's hand-picked candidate, Delegate Dan Cox, is leading in the GOP race for governor in early election results. Cox's strength is showing across the board, in both early voting and today's in-person results. There is electricity at the Cox Election Night party in Emmitsburg; as of 10:40 PM, Cox is leading Kelly Schulz 50.63%% to 42.25% for the Republican nomination.

Tom Perez

On the Democratic side, Tom Perez is racing out to a massive early lead over his crowded field of competitors. Like Cox, Perez is dominating in both today's tally from polling places, and in the early voting results. He holds a 46.70% lead over Wes Moore, who is currently in a distant second place with 23.09%. Peter Franchot, long considered the frontrunner in the race, is struggling to rack up even half of Moore's total so far.

"So far" is the operative phrase, of course. Only 85 of 258 election day precincts have been counted statewide so far. Depending which counties are further ahead in their counts, the results may change by morning, and into the rest of the week. 

New signage added for Ripieno's, JoJo's at Burger King in Rockville

Ripieno's Italian Bistro and JoJo's Express have been operating in the newly-renovated Burger King at 16004 Shady Grove Road since April. Now they also have lit signage on the facade of the restaurant, which is at the border of Rockville and Gaithersburg. The branding is all over the place at the property, with Ripieno's referred to in different places as "Ripieno's Italian Bistro," "Ripieno's of Ocean City" and now "Ripieno's Express" on the new sign outside. This is still the best Burger King in Montgomery County, now with Ocean City's increasingly-famous giant Ripieno's pizza, which is beginning to get shoutouts from tourists in their reviews of the resort city.

Assault at AMC Montgomery 16 movie theater at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a 2nd-degree assault at the AMC Montgomery 16 cineplex at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda Sunday night, July 17, 2022. The assault was reported at the theater at 8:54 PM. Four assaults were reported at the mall between May 18 and June 7 this year; this is the first to be reported at the mall's movie theater.

Toys R Us to return at Macy's in Bethesda, Gaithersburg & Wheaton for holiday shopping season

Toys R Us will attempt to make a nationwide comeback this holiday season, the brand announced yesterday. The toy store will be largely found at malls across the country, but not in its own space. Instead, there will be Toys R Us stores inside of every Macy's department store, including those here in Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, and at Westfield Wheaton Plaza mall. The first pop-up stores are expected to open by the end of this month, with the rest making their debuts by mid-October. 

Toys R Us photo of new concept
store inside Macy's nationwide

Toys R Us closed in Rockville in 2014. It briefly operated a downsized Toys R Us Express store at Montgomery Mall ten years ago. The last Toys R Us in Montgomery County closed in 2018, in Gaithersburg. This new Toys R Us won't offer the experience kids enjoyed in the past: a cavernous warehouse space with nearly-endless aisles of toys, bikes, ride-on vehicles and video games, with a car trip around back to the loading dock area for special pickup of a big item.

Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued for most of Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C.

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for a large area of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, stretching from Lynchburg, Virginia to lower New York and Western Connecticut. All of the Washington, D.C. region, including Montgomery County and Prince George's County, are under the watch until 10:00 PM tonight. This follows a Flood Watch for much of that area that is in effect until midnight tonight.

Between now and 10:00 PM, severe thunderstorms are possible. These storms may spawn tornadoes, isolated ping-pong-size hail, and scattered wind gusts up to 70 MPH. The first storms appear to be impacting northern Montgomery County - including Potomac, Germantown and Damascus, and parts of Northern Virginia and Frederick County, including Mount Airy and Urbana. Specifc severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for those areas.

Be prepared by ensuring flashlights and radios have fresh batteries, and that your phone is fully-charged. Bring any objects that could become airborne inside from yards and balconies. Move to a lower level or interior room if a thunderstorm warning is issued for your area.

Map courtesy National Weather Service

Flood watch issued for Montgomery County, Central Maryland, Washington, D.C. region

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for large portions of the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas. A possibility of severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon and early evening hours tonight, along with potential rainfall rates of 1-2" per hour, may cause flash flooding between 4:00 PM and midnight. Jurisdictions under the flood watch include Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Washington, D.C., Arlington County, Alexandria, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County, Bowie, Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Carroll County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Harford County.