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.

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