Takeaways from the Anne Arundel County primary election

County Councilwoman Allison Pickard won the three-way Democratic primary to be the party’s candidate for Anne Arundel County executive, but hers was far from the only race there.

She will face Republican Dave Crawford in November to replace the term-limited Steuart Pittman. Crawford, chief of Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Co. in Severna Park, ran unopposed.

Here are five other takeaways from the county election.

Significant council turnover

The Anne Arundel County Council will look very different after November’s general election, with new faces in at least four of the seven seats.

Pickard could not run for County Council and county executive at the same time, so her District 2 will have a new representative.

Pete Smith, who represents District 1 on the council, lost to Pickard in the Democratic primary.

Newcomers are running in his district and three others: 2, 6 and 7, though the Democratic primary winner in District 6, which includes Annapolis, is a familiar face: former Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley.

“It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a lot of turnover,” said Nathan Volke, who represents District 3 and ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

He and Republican Amanda Fiedler, who ran unopposed in the District 5 primary, would be two of the three returning members.

In 2018, the council changed from all men to a supermajority of women — the result of local pushback to President Donald Trump’s first election and concerns about local development, Volke said.

That “blue wave” featured a groundswell of voters turning out, Volke said. But he said a similar shake-up is less likely this year, with voters exhausted by national politics.

County Council Chair Julie Hummer, who handily won Tuesday’s Democratic primary, said she’s begun working with the council’s staff to plan onboarding and training for new members.

She said she’s worked well in the past with Volke and Fiedler and hopes that continues.

“There will be a learning curve, definitely,” Hummer said. “It’s a lot to learn at one time.”

Beidle’s Democracy Slate dominates

Arguably, the person in Anne Arundel County who had the best primary election night wasn’t even on the ballot.

State Sen. Pam Beidle, who is retiring, threw her support and campaign money behind a slate of candidates, including Pickard, Hummer and Del. Mark Chang, who won the Democratic primary to replace Beidle in the state Senate.

Those three won their primaries, as did most other candidates on the Anne Arundel County Democracy Slate, with one prominent exception. Will Shorter, the slate’s pick for Council District 2, lost, as did one central committee member, Beidle said. Two other central committee races are too close to call, she said.

“Other than that, we had a great night,” she said.

Beidle said she felt it was her responsibility to help get the right people elected as she retires, and she felt she accomplished that.

“I was really happy to help. I’ve lived in this county my entire life. I felt like we need good leaders, we need people that really care about our constituents and can lead.”

Hummer handily beat a challenger in her primary and will face Republican Thomas Wieland in the general. She said Beidle “definitely laid the groundwork” for women to advance in Anne Arundel County politics.

“She has built so many relationships through the years. She has mentored and brought up so many people that have come along,” Hummer said. “I think it’s spectacular that she goes out on this note.”

The Maryland Supreme Court spoke, and voters listened

Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court Judge Marc Knapp was removed from office by the Maryland Supreme Court on June 4.

However, he remained on the Democratic primary ballot. The embattled former probate judge had been embroiled in a public dispute with Vickie Gipson, who was the chief judge of Anne Arundel probate court.

County primary voters appear to have agreed with Maryland’s highest court. Four candidates were on the Democratic primary ballot for judge of the Orphans’ Court, and voters could select up to three.

Knapp received the lowest number of tallied votes, about 16%. Matt O’Connell, who is currently the third-place candidate, received more than 22%.

The three Democrats will face three Republicans in November for the three judgeships.

It’s a flipped rematch for sheriff

Everett Sesker, the incumbent sheriff of Anne Arundel County, ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, Jim Fredericks is the apparent winner with 67% of the votes as of Wednesday afternoon.

It will be the second time the two have faced off for the post. Sesker narrowly defeated then-Sheriff Fredericks, winning 50.51% of the vote in 2022.

Fewer than 2,400 votes separated the two.

Hometown advantage?

Candidates familiar to voters in certain regions of the county saw that affinity reflected in Tuesday night’s results.

Pickard dominated the northern side of the county, where she has represented the Glen Burnie, Severn and Millersville communities as the District 2 council member.

Smith did well in his home district, which encompasses largely Black communities such as Brooklyn Park, along with precincts with historically Black neighborhoods south of the Severn, according to Dan Nataf, a politics professor at Anne Arundel Community College.

“He had a very specific map calculus about how many Black voters he needed to turn out,” said Nataf, who discussed such priorities with Smith’s campaign ahead of the election.

James Kitchin, a special assistant to Pittman, had two areas of strong support. One was downtown Annapolis, and the other was in and around Crofton, where Kitchin is from.

An analysis of preliminary results by precinct shows Pickard won broad support across the county. In almost every precinct she did not win outright, Pickard came in second place.