Democrat Cat Carter flips Howard County Council’s District 5

For the first time, Howard County voters did not elect any Republicans to local office.

The county’s only Republican candidate, Ryan O’Connor, conceded the race for council District 5 on Wednesday to Democrat Cat Carter. The westernmost district was long considered a conservative stronghold in Howard since its creation in 1986.

Some mail-in and provisional votes have not yet been counted, but election day results showed Carter with a nearly 6 percentage point lead over O’Connor.

The first-time candidate said he was “bummed” about the results, but added that “life goes on.” O’Connor said he looks forward to spending time with his family and does not plan to run again for public office.

Meanwhile, Carter celebrated her historic win Tuesday night at a jubilant party for county Democrats at Busboys and Poets in Columbia. The crowd of supporters erupted into repeated cheers as television screens broadcast news of flipped congressional seats across the country. Carter thanked her supporters for helping her knock on more than 6,000 doors across District 5.

Current Councilman David Yungmann’s decision to not seek reelection at the end of his second term left the midterm race wide open this fall. Although the GOP typically has been in the minority on County Council, the Republican in District 5 often had the tie-breaking vote when the Democrats split on an issue.

The voters’ rebuke of Republican candidates shores up Howard’s status as a deep blue county for the next four years.

Before leaving the stage Tuesday night, Carter embraced incoming County Executive Vanessa Atterbeary, who also made history Tuesday night as the first woman elected to the position in 40 years and the first African American woman to win the office.

Both Carter and Atterbeary have centered constituent services as their top priority for when they take office in December.

“The real hard work is ahead of me,” Carter said.