Blair, Trailing By 42 Votes, Will Request Recount In MoCo Executive Race

By Danielle E. Gaines and Bruce DePuyt, Maryland Matters

August 7, 2022

Businessman David Blair will request a recount in the race for Montgomery County executive, after another round of ballot counting on Saturday showed him down 42 votes to incumbent Marc Elrich.

There are 34 ballots remaining to be reported, county elections officials said Saturday night.

The razor-thin margin in the race means the recount of more than 110,000 ballots would be done at no cost to either candidate.

“Given the extremely close margin, we will be requesting a full recount and are hopeful that the outcome will be in our favor,” Blair said in a statement.

On Saturday, elections officials reported the results of provisional ballots, a canvass that dramatically narrowed the already-close gap between the candidates.

Elrich tweeted Saturday night about his apparent victory.

“I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive. I want to thank the voters,” Elrich said in a statement. “I love this county and care about our residents so very deeply. This primary has been a long journey.”

The 2022 race is a repeat of the 2018 primary, when Elrich also squeaked out a win over Blair. In that race, Elrich led by 79 votes after ballots were counted, and clinched the win by 77 votes after a recount.

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