Congratulations to all of the newly elected legislators in local and state office and those who won reelection. Thank you to so many talented, passionate individuals who ran campaigns elevating environmental issues in their districts.
Many of the races where Clean Water Action's Vote Environment Committee endorsed were very close races, reinforcing the fact that every vote matters in an election. While some results can be determined on Election Day, this election cycle has seen many races hinging on absentee ballots. Notably, in Baltimore County the democratic primary winner (Johnny O) was announced after a long recount. In the General Election, both state senate district 9 and the two of the local Frederick county council races required a full accounting of absentee ballots.
Frederick County
Clean Water Action's Vote Environment Committee endorsed candidates Ron Young, Karen Young, Carol Krimm, and Ken Kerr won their races and will be a strong environmental delegation in Annapolis.
In local politics, Jan Gardner, MC Keegan-Ayer, and Jessica Fitzwater won reelection.
We are still waiting on the results of the absentee and provisional ballots to determine the outcome of the district 1 and at large county council races. After election day, endorsed candidate Jerry Donald was approximately 60 votes behind his challenger and Kai Hagen was a couple hundred votes ahead of the next two top vote getters, within the margin of absentee votes.
Update: According to the unofficial numbers released by Frederick County, Kai Hagen is in the lead for at-large county council. Jerry Donald has won reelection in county council district 1!
Howard County
As of now, endorsed candidate Katie Fry Hester is about 150 votes ahead of her opponent Gail Bates. This race will be determined after the absentee ballots have been counted.
Update: Katie Fry Hester has won the senate seat in district 9, parts of Howard and Carroll counties.
Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County voters are sending many clean water candidates to Annapolis, including:
- Sarah Elfreth and Alice Cain in the Annapolis area.
- Pam Beidle and Sandy Bartlett in distrit 32.
Here is our full list of Clean Water Action Vote Environment Committee's endorsements.
