BERLIN — With the 2014 primary election in the books for the most part, save for a few races of local interest that will be likely be decided on absentee ballots, Worcester County voters re-elected their sheriff, cleared up its delegate races, followed the trends in certain statewide races and bucked the trends in others.
The primary was held on Tuesday and as a result an otherwise murky November general election picture became clearer. With just two candidates in the field for Worcester County Sheriff, including Republican incumbent Reggie Mason and Republican challenger George Truitt, that race was decided on Tuesday with Mason winning by a decidedly large margin. Mason collected 2,807 votes, or 82 percent of the ballots cast, while Truitt came in at 602, or 18 percent.
“I will continue to upgrade this office to better serve you,” Mason told the county’s electorate in a Facebook message. “I will continue to ask our commissioners for additional deputies and the best equipment to make my deputies and you more safe. Anything to make everyone more safe we will certainly take the necessary steps.”
In the newly created House 38C district, a pair of Democrats faced off in Judy Davis and Mike Hindi with an opportunity to face the lone Republican candidate for the seat, Mary Beth Carozza, in November. Davis won by a comfortable margin at 84 percent, while Hindi came in at 16 percent.
“I am very pleased and I’m happy people got out and voted,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the General Election in November. … One of the issues I’m most concerned with is establishing more well-paying jobs. Our brightest and best are leaving the area after school because they can’t find jobs.”
Davis had high praise for her primary opponent and urged more young people to get involved in the democratic process.
“Kudos to Mike for getting involved in the process,” she said. “We need more young people to get active and involved.”
Other significant issues for Davis going forward are education, the environment and natural resources and agriculture.
“We need to balance our desire to restore and protect the Chesapeake with the need to protect our farmers and our agriculture industry,” she said.
In the only other Lower Shore House district primary on Tuesday, Democrat Keisha Haythe was leading fellow Democrat Rodney Benjamin in District 37B by a mere two percentage points when the polls closed on Tuesday with absentee ballots still to count. On the Republican side in 37B, Johnny Mautz defeated Christopher Adams with 36 percent of the vote compared to 24 percent.
In House District 37A, current Wicomico Councilmember Sheree Sample-Hughes ran unopposed to fill the seat vacated by longtime Delegate Rudy Cane. In District 38B, incumbent Democrat Norm Conway will face Republican challenger Carl Anderton in November. Similarly, in House District 38A, incumbent Republican Charles Otto will face Democratic challenger Percy Purnell, Jr. in November.
State Senate District 37 will have a new representative as Adelaide Eckardt defeated long-time incumbent Richard Colburn in the Republican primary. Eckardt will face Democratic challenger Christopher Robinson in November. Closer to home, Democratic incumbent Jim Mathias will face current District 38B Delegate Mike McDermott in the senate’s 38th District in November.
Beyond the Worcester County Sheriff’s primary, there were other local races during Tuesday’s primary that became clearer following the election. For example, Republican Susan Braniecki emerged as the winner in a field of challengers for the Worcester County Clerk of Circuit Court, garnering 46 percent of the vote. On the Democratic side, Valerie Gaskill emerged, garnering 58 percent of the vote. Gaskill will face Braniecki for the seat in November.
In the Wicomico County Council primaries, incumbent Matt Holloway won on Tuesday with 44 percent of the vote and will face Salisbury Councilmember Laura Mitchell for the at-large seat in November. In District 1, Ernest Davis defeated McKinley Hayward with 51 percent of the vote. In District 3, Republican Larry Dodd defeated Tom Taylor in the primary and will face Joshua Hastings in November.
Despite concerns going into Tuesday about the apparent apathy with the primary in June for the first time, the turnout numbers statewide were about on par with prior years’ primaries at just over 20 percent. Locally, Worcester and Wicomico counties each recorded a 20.21% turnout.
The Lower Shore counties followed some trends and went the other way in statewide races. For example, voters in Worcester and Wicomico supported eventual winner Lieutenant Gov. Anthony Brown over Attorney General Doug Gansler, but the percentages were not as pronounced. On the Republican side, voters in Worcester and Wicomico supported David Craig by significant margins, but Larry Hogan easily won the Republican primary.