Baltimore County Primary Election Results Bring History Making Nominees for County Executive, Sheriff, State’s Attorney 

When the polls closed on the June 23 primary election day, the results of several races were too close to call, demonstrating that every vote really does count. Across Baltimore County, history was made as more women, blacks and other minorities, and Generation Zers won their respective primaries. 

Some candidates could celebrate decisive victories at watch parties that evening, while others had to wait until Baltimore County Board of Elections completed its count of thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots. 

In Baltimore County, the most competitive races were for County Executive and County Council. Last year, the council adopted legislation to expand the number of councilmanic districts from seven to nine following a controversial and protracted redistricting process. The redrawn districts and two additional seats attracted more female, Black and minority candidates. Since the council was established in 1956, its members have been largely white males. The 2026 primary also represented the first time candidates could use public financing to fund their campaigns, giving some candidates a financial boost.

Between early voting on June 11-18, election day on June 23, and mail-in and provisional ballots, the overall turnout for Baltimore County was 27.2%. Turnout by state legislative district was as follows: District 10 (30.2%), 11A (28.5%), 11B (34%) and 44A (25.1%) and 44B (30.6%).   

Most voters cast their ballots on election day. But Randallstown Community Center was the busiest early voting center in the county, with 4,807 people voting at the 11 sites during the 8-day voting period.

Three incumbent council members, Julian Jones, Izzy Patoka and Pat Young, all from the west side, threw their hats in the ring for Baltimore County’s top post. Some believed the race would be close. Councilman Julian Jones, who represents District 4 (Randallstown, parts of Reisterstown and Owings Mills) came out on top of a hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. 

Jones, buoyed by key endorsements from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, won with 38% of the total vote, compared with 30% from Councilman Patoka, who also earned key endorsements, including from the teachers’ union. The campaign between the two became tense with each lobbing accusations and criticisms against the other.

At the end of the first two days of counting, Jones was several thousand votes ahead of Patoka, but Patoka, represents District 2 (Woodlawn, Owings Mills, Pikesville), was optimistic he could close the gap once mail-in ballots were counted. Jones’s margin held and Patoka conceded days later, on June 27.

Corporate attorney and former appointed school board member Nick Stewart ran as an outsider. The Catonsville resident, who had not held elected office, was perceived to be gaining momentum in the final weeks. There was no upset and Stewart finished third with 18.2% of the vote.

Councilman Young, who represents District 1 (Catonsville, Halethorpe and the southwest sector), said before early voting that he and his team of volunteers knocked on more than 50,000 doors, hearing from voters that data centers, high energy costs and inflation were their top concerns. Young said he felt “we’ve done everything in our power to get there, knowing that public financing was a risk and we have shouldered the burden of that risk.” A former state delegate and United States military veteran, Young received 9.3% of the vote.  

Mansoor Shams, a Baltimore County employee and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who founded MuslimMarine.org, received 4.2% of the vote. 

The Republican nominee is Patrick Dyer, owner of a financial services firm in Timonium.  

If elected in November, Jones, a retired division fire chief and four-time council chair, will be the first Black Baltimore County executive. Observers believed that in addition to Jones, Patoka, Stewart and Young enjoyed a reasonably solid percentage of the black vote, most of which is consolidated in the northwest.

There were five open seats plus the two seats created from redistricting. Along with the three council members filing to run for county executive, Wade Kach of District 3 (to become redrawn District 5) decided to retire, and Todd Crandell of District 7 (to become the new District 9) chose not to seek reelection. Democrat Council Chair Mike Ertel and four-term Republican Councilman David Marks both ran unopposed in their respective primaries. They will be joined by seven new council members who win their general election races.

District 1

Paul Dongarra, who ran for County Council in 2022 and lost to Councilman Pat Young, was successful this time out. A business owner and smart-growth and environmental advocate, Dongarra bested Mandy Remmell, district director for U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski, 55.6% to 39.7%. Both candidates live in Catonsville.

Rheagan Kindle, treasurer of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee, is the Republican nominee.

District 2

The councilmanic race in District 2, which pulls in Windsor Mill, Reisterstown and parts of Randallstown (areas that are currently in District 1 and 4), turned out to be a nail-biter. The two leading candidates held a narrow margin that switched throughout the week. 

Political observers who believed the race would be between Ruben Amaya, 3^rd vice president of the state Democratic Party and president of the Young Democrats of Maryland, and Danita Tolson, former president of the Baltimore County NAACP, based on name recognition were likely surprised by Lawrence Williams’ strong showing. 

On election night, Williams, a retired educator who lives in Randallstown, led the field by 15 votes. The lead changed several times while the Baltimore County Board of Elections tallied mail-in votes, then Amaya, a resident of Reisterstown, pulled ahead. He eventually won by 28 votes.

Amaya will go up against Republican James Amos in the general election.

District 3

Makeda Scott, a former Board of Education chair, decisively won the Democratic nomination to represent the redrawn district that encompasses Owings Mills, Randallstown and Reisterstown.

Owings Mills resident Scott bested Mark Brewster, a Baltimore County management/legislative analyst, and Linda Dorsey Walker, a six-term member of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee (BCDCC) who spearheaded the Vote4More Baltimore County initiative to increase the number of council seats. Scott received 36.5% of the vote, Brewster 22.1% and Dorsey Walker 21.5%. 

Others in the race were Regg Hatcher, a federal government contractor and BCDCC member for District 10, and Tyrod Haynes, a BCDCC member for District 11A. Chike Anyanwu is the Republican nominee.

District 4

It was a two-man contest in the redrawn District 4, which now includes Woodlawn, Lochearn and Pikesville. Karson Kamenetz, a 24-year-old law student and son of former county executive Kevin Kamenetz, won over Aaron Barnett, a longshoreman, founder of a nonprofit for young people and longtime community advocate. Kamenetz received 63.6% of the vote.

By councilmanic district, District 3 had the highest number of voters turn out on the west side, with 3,939. District 2 followed, with 3,578; District 4, 3,068; and District 1, 2,695.

East Side

The redrawn District 5 covers Cockeysville, Lutherville-Timonium and all parts north. Districts 6, 7, 8 and 9 span across the county’s east side.

In District 5, Shawn McIntosh, a public health professional, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face Nino Mangione (currently District 3), a former member of the House of Delegates whom the Republican Central Committee selected to replace Kach on the County Council. 

Council Chair Mike Ertel will face Republican Christine Vondersmith in District 6, which includes the Towson area.

In District 7, four-term councilman David Marks (currently of District 5) will face Caridad “Cari” Santiago, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. District 7 encompasses White Marsh and Perry Hall.

The races that drew the most intense interest included District 8, which covers the Middle River and Essex area, and southeast District 9, which includes Dundalk and Sparrows Point. 

Sharonda Dillard-Huffman, a disability services manager for a housing nonprofit, won the Democratic nomination for District 8 over Crystal Francis Cody, former chair of the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee. She will face Republican Josh Sines, president of the Essex Middle River Civic Council.

In District 9, the race remained a tossup until the final votes were counted. Arkia Wade, president of the Baltimore County Arts Guild and CEO of a nonprofit that supports older adults, squeaked past Mark McCluskey, a local marina owner, by 41 votes. 

Wade will face Republican Tim Fazenbaker in the general election. Fazenbaker has been censured by the local Republican Party for derogatory remarks about fellow Republicans.

That area is currently represented by Crandell, a Republican, in District 7, but has been redrawn and renumbered as District 9. After a police encounter in his Eastpoint Mall office involving alcohol and a loaded gun and reports of domestic violence, Crandell did not run for reelection. 

Scott Shellenberger has served as the county’s top prosecutor since 2006 and was running for a sixth term. After narrowly winning election in 2022, he was up against a heavily endorsed Sarah David, deputy state prosecutor for the Maryland Office of the State Prosecutor. David defeated Shellenberger with 53.8% to his 26.5% of the vote. With no Republican nominee, David likely will be the first woman elected to the post.

The other candidate, Lauren Lipscomb, a prosecutor who heads Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office conviction integrity unit, received 19.7% of the vote. 

The Sheriff’s Office primarily provides court security, serves legal documents, and transports prisoners. Clyde Boatwright, a Baltimore City Schools Police sergeant, is the new sheriff in town. Boatwright is also president of the Maryland State Fraternal of Police. He replaces R. Jay Fisher, who served as sheriff since 2002 and did not seek reelection. 

A resident of Middle River, Boatwright campaigned heavily throughout the county, soundly defeating his Democratic opponents with 58.7% of the vote. His opponent in the general election is Republican Michael Burke. 

The general election contest for Clerk of the Circuit Court is between Julie Ensor, who has served in the role since 2010 and Republican Christina Mulligan. The Register of Wills election will see Democrat incumbent Alexis Burrell-Rohde running against Republican Nicole Schroeder. Burrell-Rohde has held the position since April 2021.

There was little competition in the statewide offices, as well as the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates contests.

As expected Gov. Wes Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller cruised to victory the Democratic nomination for the State House. Attorney Dan Cox captured the Republican nomination for the governor’s race over businessman Ed Hale, who switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat for this 2026 gubernatorial election. The outcome sets up a rematch between Cox and Moore, who soundly defeated Cox in 2022 with 64% of the vote.

In the Democratic primary, Brooke Liermann had no opposition for Comptroller and Anthony Brown was the sole candidate for Attorney General.   

Maryland General Assembly incumbents representing the westside districts had little or no opposition. Senators Ben Brooks of District 10 and Charles Sydnor of District 44 advance to the general election with no Republican nominees and will likely return to Annapolis. District 11 Sen. Shelly Hettleman has a Republican challenger. 

District 10 Delegates Jennifer White Holland and N. Scott Phillips, who also chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, easily won reelection. With Speaker Emeritus Adrienne Jones deciding not to seek reelection, she endorsed former board school member Robin Harvey, who won the open seat. 

In District 11A, incumbent Cheryl Pasteur bested her sole Democratic challenger, Nico Sanders. Delegates Dana Stein and Jon Cardin won their elections in District 11B. 

District 44A, Delegate Eric Ebersole and Republican Chuck Linton advance to the general election. Delegates Sheila Ruth and Aletheia McCaskill won their Democratic nomination. In District 44B.

U.S. Rep. Kweisi will return for his fourth term representing District 7 in the House of Representatives. Johnny Olszewski won his second term representing District 2.

Across Maryland, Democratic and Republican primary election winners of the state, local and congressional office, along with unaffiliated candidates who qualified for the ballot, will compete in the general election on Nov. 3. Early voting takes place Oct. 22-29.