Baltimore Council races still too close to call following Thursday ballot count; Scott widens lead over Dixon

Incumbent Mayor Brandon Scott widened his lead over former mayor Sheila Dixon while the race for Baltimore’s 11th council district narrowed after officials resumed counting mail-in ballots for the Democratic primary Thursday.

Scott declared victory Tuesday night in the mayoral race after The Associated Press called the race for him, but his chief rival Dixon has not yet conceded, citing the number of yet-unprocessed ballots. Election officials counted around 14,853 ballots Thursday and released a tally around 6 p.m. showing a widening gulf between the two candidates. Scott now leads Dixon by about 8,900 votes, expanding upon his 6,500-vote margin on election night.

Dixon’s spokesman Luca Amayo said the campaign has reviewed Thursday’s results and will issue a “final statement” Friday morning.

Election officials will resume counting some 3,000 mail-in ballots Monday. Another 6,300 provisional ballots will not be processed until later next week.

The outcomes of three Baltimore City Council primary races remained uncertain Thursday evening, even as margins expanded for some council hopefuls. The Democratic primary often determines the outcome of political races in deeply Democratic Baltimore.

Adding to the uncertainty was an update made late Thursday to vote totals reported from Election Day voting. The update reduced the total number of votes cast that day, making a nominal change to the mayoral race, but shifting some council races considerably. City Election Director Armstead Jones said officials re-uploaded memory sticks from all Election Day votes on Thursday as a means of verifying totals, potentially causing numbers to change. Jones said he would further investigate the issue Friday morning.

The race for Baltimore’s District 11 City Council seat appeared to be the closest matchup. On election night, Councilman Eric Costello had a 25-vote lead over his challenger, Zac Blanchard. On Thursday, that margin shrunk to 17 votes.

With the adjusted Election Day totals posted Thursday night, however, Costello was leading by 87 votes.

Blanchard, a Marine Corps veteran, was the first city candidate to receive the maximum assistance from public financing in the 2024 cycle. He raised enough small donations to access $125,000 in public financing, much of which he used on advertising and mailers criticizing Costello’s ties to powerful businessmen and developers.

The contest is the most significant challenge Costello has faced since he was first appointed to his South Baltimore seat in 2014. He has consolidated power during his decade on the council, rising to become the chair of the Ways and Means Committee. The district covers the Baltimore Peninsula in South Baltimore and the Inner Harbor, and runs north to Bolton Hill.

In District 8, another hard-fought race, Paris Gray, a District 8 council liaison, expanded his lead over former state Del. Bilal Ali. Gray led by just 53 votes on election night. After Tuesday’s counting, Gray led by 156 votes. The West Baltimore district is currently represented by Councilman Kristerfer Burnett. Burnett, who announced last summer he would not seek reelection, named Gray as his chosen successor.

With the adjusted Election Day totals posted Thursday night, Gray led by 142 votes.

Jermaine Jones, a labor union official, challenging Councilman Robert Stokes, also expanded his lead with Thursday’s counting. On election night, 140 votes separated the pair in the District 12 race. On Thursday, Jones led by 211 votes. The adjusted Election Day totals posted Thursday night did not impact the District 12 race.

The challenge from Jones is the closest race Stokes has faced in the eight years he’s represented his Central and East Baltimore district on the council. He narrowly won his first term in 2016, topping a field of seven Democrats and beat back a well-funded challenger in 2020.