2022 Maryland election: Tossup county executive races in Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel counties

A handful of county executive races across Maryland in the D.C. area are shaping up to be close contests and some remained too close to call on election night.

Shortly after midnight Wednesday:

• In the Frederick County executive race, Republican Michael Hough had opened a lead over Democrat Jessica Fitzwater in the race to succeed outgoing Democratic County Executive Jan Gardner.
• In Anne Arundel County, Democrat Steuart Pittman was trailing Republican Jessica Haire although, in contrast to other Maryland jurisdictions, no mail-in ballots have yet been counted.
• In Howard County, a rematch of the 2018 contest, Democrat Calvin Ball held a wide lead over former Republican executive Allan Kittleman and declared “likely victory,” according to media reports.

Montgomery, Prince George’s Co. exec races

Closer to D.C., Democratic county executives fared well.

In Montgomery County, Maryland’s most populous county, Democrat Marc Elrich was the projected winner in the county executive race, easily fending off a challenge from Republican Reardon “Sully” Sullivan.

Elrich eked out a 32-vote victory in July’s Democratic primary.

In Prince George’s County, Angela Alsobrooks ran unopposed for a second term and did not have a challenger on the ballot.

Frederick County

In Frederick County, where some mail-in ballots remain to be counted, two-term state Sen. Michael Hough was leading Democrat Jessica Fitzwater, 55% to 45% as of midnight Wednesday. The total difference in votes was nearly 8,800.

Fitzwater, a two-term county council member, campaigned on prioritizing affordable housing and investing in education and said she would govern in the mold of her predecessor, Gardner, also a Democrat and the county’s first county executive under the “charter system of government” adopted in 2014.

Hough had campaigned on keeping the county from being “overdeveloped and overtaxed.”

“I don’t want to see Frederick County turn into Montgomery County-North,” Hough told WTOP.

Hough is also a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves on the state Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee.

Counting the rest of the mail-in ballots is due to start Thursday.

Anne Arundel County

In Anne Arundel County, Democratic incumbent Steuart Pittman was trailing County Council Member Jessica Haire, 46% to 54%.

Haire’s lead as of about midnight Wednesday was about 10,800 votes.

However, Anne Arundel County is one of 13 jurisdictions in which no mail-in ballots were counted before Election Day. They will be counted starting Thursday.

Pittman, who was elected to the office amid the Democratic wave in 2018 with 52% of the vote, ran on improving schools and other county services and said Haire is too extreme, according to Maryland Matters.

Haire countered that Pittman’s leadership of the county has been a failure and hit him particularly on crime and government waste.

In debates and on the campaign trail, the two candidates have sparred over crime, taxes, county spending, and growth and development.

A poll in early October from a political action committee supporting Pittman showed Haire with a slight lead over the Democratic incumbent.

Howard County

In the county executive race in Howard County — which shaped up to be a heated rematch of the 2018 campaign — Democrat Calvin Ball held a comfortable lead as of midnight Wednesday.

Ball was leading his Republican challenger Allan Kittleman 56% to 43%. Ball’s margin was about 13,700 votes.

While registered Democrats far outnumber Republicans, Howard County is seen as a bellwether.

In 2018, Ball bested Kittleman with nearly 53% of the vote to Kittleman’s 47%. 

This go-round, Ball campaigned on the investments he’s made in education, including boosting funding for special education, teacher salaries and school construction, according to Maryland Matters.

Kittleman campaigned on addressing concerns over public safety, education and taxes.

There are also still mail-in ballots to count in this race.