Democrats See Slight Gains After First Round Of Mail-In Ballot Canvassing

HAVRE DE GRACE - Harford County has completed its first round of mail-in ballot canvassing. As expected, democrats have received a larger share of the mail-in votes leaving some races unchanged and others much closer.

The race for Harford County Council District F has tightened significantly. Of the 1,675 mail-in ballots counted in district F, 64.5% went to Jacob Bennett (D), while 31.9% went to Curtis Beulah (R). These new votes leave Beulah, the incumbent, with a lead of only 481 votes. Beulah has 48.8% of the vote, and Bennett has 45.5%.

Republicans are leading in six out of the seven races for County Council. County Council president Patrick Vincenti and District C council member Tony Giangiordano, both Republicans, are leading their opponents by considerable margins. Other than Bennet, the only other democrat with a chance to win their county council seat is Dion Guthrie of District A, who has 55.6% of the vote over Republican David Woods.

Another close race is for District 34A’s two seats in the Maryland House of Delegates. Democrat Steve Johnson has received a sizeable boost from mail-in ballots and now sits in second place with 25.5% of the vote. Steve Johnson trails only Andre Johnson (no relation), another democrat, with 28.6% of the vote.

Steve Johnson bumped republican candidate Glen Glass from second place. Glass now has 24.5% of the vote, followed by fellow republican Teresa Walker with 21.1% of the vote.

Harford County’s District 34 race for state senate has also shifted slightly. Democratic state senate candidate Mary-Dulany James has narrowed the gap with her opponent, republican Christian Miele. Miele currently leads James by only 1,149 votes, 51.3% to 48.4%.

While the race for District 34 remains close, republicans have swept the county’s other two State Senate races. Republican incumbents J.B. Jennings of District 7 and Jason Gallion of District 35 both ran unopposed.

The race for Harford County Executive remains primarily unchanged. Republican Bob Cassilly currently has about 66.3% of the vote and is expected to defeat Democratic challenger Blane Miller III.

Havre de Grace is proving itself as a competitive area in state elections, with several of the closest races representing the city. With hundreds of votes still uncounted, the results of these close elections may not be released until mid-next week.