What happened on primary election night in Anne Arundel County

The slate of moderate Democrats endorsed by retiring state Sen. Pam Beidle for the most part built commanding leads in Tuesday’s primary elections in Anne Arundel County.

The Anne Arundel Democracy Slate was headlined by county executive candidate Allison Pickard, a Democrat who has represented Glen Burnie on the County Council for two terms.

Beidle, who is retiring after 28 years in public office, also endorsed several incumbents: State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess, Council Chair Julie Hummer and Dels. Mark Chang and J. Sandy Bartlett.

By early Wednesday, Pickard had been declared the victor by the Associated Press and the others were comfortably ahead in their respective races based on election day and in-person early votes, along with partial totals from mail-in and provisional ballots. Vote counting will resume Thursday.

Winning the Democratic primary is no guarantee of victory in purple Anne Arundel, where nearly 1 in 3 registered voters are Republicans.

There were, however, few contested elections on the GOP side.

Here’s a breakdown of Anne Arundel’s primary election results.

County Executive

Pickard, who served on the school board before being elected to the county council, defeated fellow council member Pete Smith and James Kitchin, who works as a special assistant to outgoing County Executive Steuart Pittman, a term-limited Democrat.

The winner will face Republican Dave Crawford, a volunteer fire chief, in November’s general election.

State’s Attorney

Leitess, who has been the county’s top prosecutor for nine years, took a big step Tuesday toward securing a third consecutive term as state’s attorney. She held a comfortable lead over Carolynn Grammas, a former ally who left the state’s attorney’s office after two decades to challenge her.

Unseating Leitess, however, was never going to be an easy task.

Political experts say incumbents hold big advantages in local elections, particularly in down-ballot races such as state’s attorney elections. Name recognition is especially important in these cases.

Unlike fellow elected prosecutors in large Maryland counties, Leitess prosecutes some of her county’s highest-profile cases herself. She’s perhaps best known for securing the conviction of the man who murdered five Capital Gazette employees in 2018. In recent years, she has also won guilty verdicts against the leader of a white supremacist prison gang and the Aryan Brotherhood members he ordered to kill a fellow inmate.

Leitess has said trying cases is her way of leading by example and demonstrating to her line prosecutors that she won’t ask them to do anything she won’t do herself.

A lifelong Republican, Grammas changed parties over her dismay at what was happening at the “federal level.”

Grammas sought to capitalize on several major stumbles by her former boss.

In one high-profile murder case, a judge dismissed Leitess from the prosecution because of concerns over the state’s attorney’s handling of evidence and witnesses. Another judge declared a mistrial in a mass shooting case because of Leitess’ “transgressions” during her contentious questioning of the defendant.

Grammas argued Leitess’ missteps were evidence of broader dysfunction in the office she leads.

No Republican filed to run for state’s attorney.

County Council

Each of the seven seats on Anne Arundel’s legislative body was up for grabs.

Three incumbents — two Republicans, one Democrat — were hoping to retain their positions.

There were five competitive primaries Tuesday.

District 1

Three Democrats and one Republican vied to succeed Smith, who ran for county executive, in representing northern Anne Arundel.

Mortgage loan officer Justin Sherlock was uncontested on the GOP side, meaning he will advance to the general election.

Kelly Smith, an Army veteran who worked as a federal intelligence analyst and educator, held a wide lead over fellow Democrats Robert Kinney and Geonta Simmons.

Simmons, a lifelong county resident who has lived in Brooklyn Park for 13 years, works as a clerk in the county’s circuit court.

District 2

Like Smith, Pickard bypassed the chance to seek reelection and instead campaigned as a Democrat for county executive.

Two Democrats and one Republican competed for Pickard’s seat representing Glen Burnie and parts of Severn.

Catelyn Middlebrooks, whose experience includes working as a legislative assistant in the Maryland General Assembly and as a project manager at AARP Public Policy Institute, held a solid lead over Will Shorter, a state prosecutor in Baltimore.

Shorter was one of a few candidates from Beidle’s slate who weren’t winning.

The winner is to face Republican attorney Cory Malinowski in November.

District 3

Neither Councilman Nathan Volke, a Republican, nor his Democratic challenger, Rebecca Baucom, faced competition in Tuesday’s primary. They are expected to face off in November.

District 4

Councilwoman Julie Hummer, a Democrat who serves as council chair, held a significant lead over former elementary school teacher Josh Peters in the Democratic primary. The district covers western Anne Arundel.

The winner is set to face Republican pharmacist Tom Wieland, who ran unopposed, in November.

District 5

There was no competitive primary for this seat representing Severna Park and the Broadneck Peninsula.

Councilwoman Amanda Fiedler, a Republican, is set to face Democrat Natalie Ogilvie in the general election.

District 6

Former Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, the best-known figure in the crowded Democratic primary for the council seat representing the capital city, was sitting on a comfortable lead late Tuesday.

He was among five Democrats who competed to succeed Councilwoman Lisa Rodvien, a Democrat who did not seek reelection after two terms on the council.

The other candidates were attorney Katie McDermott, businessman Dominik Prokop, nonprofit leader Joe Toolan and Annapolis resident Sean David White.

The winner is to face perennial Republican candidate George Gallagher in November.

District 7

Former school board member Dawn Pulliam easily defeated construction worker Dillon Aldrich in Tuesday’s GOP primary to succeed Councilwoman Shannon Leadbetter, a Republican who did not seek reelection.

Pulliam is set to face Democrat Spencer Jones, owner of Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis, in the general election.

Maryland General Assembly District 32

Beidle’s decision not to run for reelection after 28 years in public office shook up the Democratic landscape in Anne Arundel County and left a void in her District 32 seat.

State Senate

Her chosen successor, Chang, held a wide lead over pastor Stephen Tillett in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

A delegate for more than a decade, Chang prides himself on constituent service. He touted his record of leading the state to invest in education, healthcare, public safety, transportation and the environment.

Tillett, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, said he would shape policy based on constituents’ lived experience, adding that he hoped to be “their voice in the room” in Annapolis.

The winner is expected to face Republican Justin Gallucci, a Realtor who ran unopposed, in November.

House of Delegates

Three delegates represent District 32, which encompasses BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, in the Maryland House.

Chang’s decision to run for Beidle’s Senate seat meant he was the only incumbent not to run for reelection.

State Dels. Sandy Bartlett and Mike Rogers, both Democrats, were leading for spots on the November ballot.

Spencer Dixon, who served as legislative director for state Sen. Dawn Gile, was ahead of former Anne Arundel County Police Lt. Steven Thomas for the third Democratic spot. Thomas retired from the agency after 30 years. He was best known for leading the agency’s Crisis Intervention Team to international renown.

Bartlett and Dixon were part of Beidle’s slate.

Only three candidates ran on the GOP side, meaning they were guaranteed to advance to the general election.

Sheriff

Sheriff Everett Sesker, who has tried to humanize the eviction process in Anne Arundel, did not have a Democratic primary opponent.

Two Republicans vied for the chance to face Sesker in November, including his predecessor.

Jim Fredericks, who served as Anne Arundel’s sheriff from 2018 to 2022, jumped out to a big lead over James McNeill.

Fredericks, a lifelong county resident who was previously an Anne Arundel County Police officer, currently works for a private security company where he collaborates with the U.S. Marshals Service to protect the federal court system in Washington.

McNeill touted his 23 years in law enforcement, including stints with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, the Maryland Aviation Administration Police and Annapolis Police.