The national blue wave that swept Democrats to power across the country lifted Democrat Spencer Jones to a likely upset victory in the race for the Anne Arundel County Council District 7 seat.
Jones narrowly topped Republican Dawn Pulliam, who was favored to win the council seat held by the GOP since 1994.
Trailing after Election Day, Jones slowly crept into the lead for the historically Republican district, closing the gap to 14 votes earlier this week, then leading by 48 on Wednesday and ahead by 262 as of Friday afternoon.
That’s out of nearly 36,000 votes cast in the surprisingly tight race.
“You need a lot of stuff to go right to run as a Democrat in District 7,” Jones said in a Friday phone call, shortly after announcing his victory.
He added that Pulliam has not yet called to concede.
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Pulliam confirmed this in an afternoon text, saying: “I plan on following the process to the end.”
There are still around 170 ballots to be counted on Monday and Tuesday, but Jones said the remaining votes aren’t enough to overcome his lead. The election results have yet to be certified.
The district stretches from Crofton to Anne Arundel’s rural southern end and has not elected a Democratic council member since 1994, when Virginia Clagett, who served five terms, left office after 20 years.
The race was the last outstanding election result on the council.
The results ensure that Democrats likely hold a commanding 6-to-1 supermajority over Republicans in the new County Council, which will take office in December. That fulfills a goal the party set out to achieve at the start of the election. The council had been split 4-3 with Democrats in the majority.
The Democrats wanted at least five council votes to be able to override vetoes by the county executive, redraw council lines, propose amendments to Anne Arundel’s charter and change council rules.
In a post on Facebook, Jones thanked his campaign supporters, including the newly elected state Sen. Dawn Gile, state Sen. Shaneka Henson, County Executive Allison Pickard, House Delegate 33B Chuck Cook and their teams.
“This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life,” he wrote in the post.
Jones, 28, is a restaurateur who owns four Five Guys franchises and Chick and Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis.
Almost 40% of his contributions this election cycle were out-of-state donations, while nearly all of Pulliam’s came from in-state.
This is Pulliam’s latest effort to secure the District 7 seat. Pulliam serves on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.
She often emphasized Jones’ lack of experience to voters, but told The Banner last week that her campaign knew it would be a tight race.
“With the national tempo, things weren’t looking good for Republicans,” she said.
She out-fundraised Jones by just under $100,000 this election cycle, with most of her contributions coming from within Maryland.
The Democrats’ dominance over November’s midterm elections, which flipped multiple historically Republican House of Delegate and council seats in Anne Arundel, are part of a state and nationwide blue wave that some are calling a repudiation of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Dan Nataf, a political scientist and professor at Anne Arundel Community College, said the tide changing in the favor of county Democrats may reflect a national reflex against Trump, more than the appeal of individual candidates.
“It seems unusual at best, that this election would sweep in someone who is not known, who has no particular history or record of running before, and has started from scratch,” he said of Jones.
Jones said Thursday that he was “cautiously optimistic,” as he held onto a 48-vote lead heading into the Friday count of provisional ballots — a common method of voting for people who’ve moved to the area and aren’t sure if they’re registered.
His lead came shortly after first-time candidate Natalie Ogilvie, a Democrat who ran against incumbent Republican Amanda Fiedler in District 5, declared victory. Her win ended county Republicans’ stronghold in the district that includes Arnold and Severn that stretched back to the ’80s.
Nataf explained that the gains for Democrats in districts known for their Republican stalwarts were “marginal flips,” put into motion long before 2026. He first noticed the trend in 2016 when the county, whose swath of unaffiliated voters often swayed Anne Arundel red, voted in favor of Democrat Hilary Clinton over Donald Trump by just over 1,500 votes.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term, another “blue wave” hit during the midterm elections, with the county electing Democrat Steuart Pittman as county executive. He succeeded Republican Steve Schuh and brought along a 4-3 majority Democratic council.
In 2022, Democrats made more headway with Chuck Cook’s victory over Republican Del. Stuart Schmidt Jr., who was believed to hold favor in the Maryland House of Delegate District 33B race in Anne Arundel.
“The seeds were already there,” he said of the Democrats’ newfound control in 2026.
“The challenge will be the next election in 2030,” he said. “Trump will not be in the picture.”
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