Julian Jones leads in Baltimore County Executive race

Baltimore County councilman Julian Jones was leading in the race for Baltimore County Executive on Tuesday night, with thousands of mail-in ballots yet to be counted.

If he prevails, the Woodstock Democrat would be the first Black leader of the county, whose population is about a third African-American. It would be the first of many firsts for Jones, who has been on the council since 2014. He was the first Black lieutenant, captain, battalion chief and division chief in the history of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, where he spent much of his career.

The next-highest vote getter was Izzy Patoka, of Pikesville. The career urban planner has been on the council since 2018 and said he hoped the mail-in ballot count would favor him.

Patoka campaign manager Jarid Matthews said the state’s mail-in ballot mishap cost Patoka votes, as many voters appeared to elect not to return their ballot. They could have been confused, he said, or just couldn’t find it after they received their replacement.

“The mail-in ballot debacle had a huge impact on us,” he said.

Around 10:15 p.m., Patoka thanked his supporters and told them he had no announcement – with mail-in ballots yet to be counted on Thursday, he was not ready to concede anything.

“Hang in there,” he told the crowd. “We have a rough couple of days coming up.”

Jones, wearing a navy suit, pressed white dress shirt and striped tie, told supporters late Tuesday that he would not declare victory “out of respect” for both his opponents and voters whose ballots had yet to be counted. Yet he acknowledged that the results were verging toward a “mathematical impossibility” that he lose.

“I stand before you today just humbled because there are those who thought this could not happen,” said Jones, flanked by his family, supporters, U.S. Reps. Kweisi Mfume and Johnny Olszewski as well as other local elected officials.

“I will not disappoint you,” he told supporters. “I will continue as I have done for the last 12 years. I wake up every day and go to sleep every night thinking about how I can make your lives better and lives better for your children and your family.”

Catonsville Democrats Nick Stewart and Pat Young also ran for County Executive but were not expected to win. Mansoor Shams, a county employee, raised $33,000 in small-dollar donations, which was not enough to qualify for public financing.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face Pat Dyer, who won the Republican primary over Kimberley Stansbury. In Baltimore County, though, Democrats outnumber Republicans 2 to 1, so the Democratic primary is considered decisive.

The 2026 race was one of the most expensive in Baltimore County history. Combined, the candidates raised $3.4 million through June 7, the most recent campaign finance records show.

Patoka and Jones each raised more than $1 million, many of it from developers and businesses. Stewart, an attorney who had served on the school board, raised more than $500,000, also from businesses, developers and builders. Young opted to take public financing and raised about $300,000 through small donations that county tax dollars matched.

The campaign turned ugly in the last few weeks, with Patoka and Jones accusing each other of using tactics similar to those of President Donald Trump.

The current county executive, Kathy Klausmeier, was appointed to finish the two years left in Johnny Olszewski’s term when he was elected to Congress in 2024. All the candidates framed the election as a battle for the soul of the county, and all called themselves change agents in an election with no incumbent.

Baltimore County, the state’s third largest, grew mostly because of white flight in the 1950s and 1960s from Baltimore City. It will soon become a majority-minority county. It is losing residents as families leave for neighboring counties with more new housing and better-performing and less crowded schools.

Jones and Patoka announced their candidacy last year, but residents had long anticipated both would enter the race in a county that is a third Black and close to 10% Jewish. Jones is Black; Patoka is Jewish. Both had several terms on the council.

Stewart, who also announced last year, did everything possible to get attention for a campaign he said was about uniting Baltimore County and ending the “pay to play” culture.

He boxed a blogger from Dundalk, dunked himself in an ice bath, then posted the video on Facebook. He was a guest on various right-leaning podcasts, even though the primaries are closed and registered Republicans cannot vote for Democrats.

At his watch party at Heavy Seas Beer in Halethorpe, Stewart appeared to acknowledge he’d fallen short. He called the campaign the “start of something really important here in Baltimore County.”

He added: “We are responsible for the state of our county. Make no mistake about that. But we are also responsible for the way out.”

Hayes Gardner contributed to this story.