Politics & Government
2026 MD Primary Takeaways: How Did Anne Arundel County Candidates Fare?
The unofficial results for the 2026 primary in Anne Arundel County filed in from hundreds of election precincts. Here are some takeaways.
Updated, 12:09 p.m. Wednesday
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The unofficial 2026 primary results are in this Wednesday, and they're showing a bit of a shake-up for Anne Arundel County's political landscape.
Verification of the results isn't expected to be finalized until July.
Find out what's happening in Annapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What's The Latest On County Executive?
In the Democrat race for county executive, 2nd District Councilmember Allison Pickard came out on top after being declared the winner by the Associated Press.
Pickard took home 15,641 votes (42.54%), besting runner-up James Kitchin who gained 10,450 ballots (28.42% of the vote).
Find out what's happening in Annapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
1st District Councilmember Pete Smith landed 9,757 votes (26.54%).
Related: Cox To Face Moore In Bid For Governor, Key Congress Races Called: MD Primary Results 2026
On the Republican ticket, Dave Crawford was called the race winner by the Associated Press after he gained 15,377 votes. Crawford ran unopposed in the primary.
What About The County Council Races?
Of the seven County Council seats up for grabs, three races featured candidates seeking to keep their seats.
Those three candidates included Republican Councilmembers Nathan Volke and Amanda Fiedler, and Democrat Councilmember Julie Hummer.
District 1
In the 1st District, Kelly Smith leads the Democratic pack with 2,545 votes (55.34% of the tally), with Geonta Simmons trailing behind at 1,560 votes (33.92%).
Uncontested Republican candidate Justin Sherlock advances with 1,483 votes.
District 2
The 2nd District saw Democrat candidate Catelyn Middlebrooks take the largest share of the votes with 2,332 ballots (56.48%). Challenger Will Shorter trailed with 1,797 votes (43.52%).
Cory Malinowski, who was the uncontested Republican primary candidate, tallied 1,753 ballots for his campaign.
District 3
In the race for the 3rd District seat, both the Democratic and Republican candidates ran unopposed.
Democrat Rebecca Baucom gained 3,124 votes, as Republican Councilmember Nathan Volke advanced with 3,586 votes.
District 4
With a sharp lead, 4th District Councilmember Julie Hummer gained 4,448 votes (72.56%) against Josh Peters's 1,682 ballots (27.44%).
Uncontested Republican candidate Thomas Dale Wieland claimed 1,057 votes.
District 5
In the race for the 5th District seat, both the Democratic and Republican candidates ran unopposed.
Democrat candidate Natalie Ogilvie claimed 4,836 votes, as 5th District Councilmember Amanda Fiedler received 2,874 votes.
District 6
The race for the 6th District seat was heavily contested, with five Democrats running for the position.
Former Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley continues to lead the Democratic pack with 3,359 votes (46.34%), and is trailed by Katie McDermott.
McDermott gained 2,233 votes (30.81%).
Republican candidate George Gallagher ran unopposed, securing 1,903 votes.
District 7
In the race for the 7th District seat, Spencer Jones ran as an unopposed Democratic candidate. He gained 4,611 votes.
Republican candidate Dawn Pulliam claimed the lion's share of the votes after landing 2,635 ballots (78.03% of the votes). Primary challenger Dillon Aldrich closed on 742 votes (21.97%).
The tables below will continue updating in real time as the state releases new vote tallies.
County Executive Candidates
County Council - 1st District
County Council - 2nd District
County Council - 3rd District
County Council - 4th District
County Council - 5th District
County Council - 6th District
County Council - 7th District
County executive candidate Kyle Nembhard dropped out of the primary race earlier this month and has since been campaigning in support of James Kitchin.
The outcome of the races will heavily impact critical decision-making on the county's budgetary, housing and planning and development policies.
Affordable housing has proven a key topic in the race. In fact, councilmembers recently swiftly overrode seven zoning-related vetoes by County Executive Steuart Pittman.
Pittman had previously explained that he'd vetoed the amendments because they "increased the allowed intensity of development."
The measures directly impact the Crofton, Gambrills, Two Rivers and Crofton areas.
Results for all races will also be available on the Maryland Department of Elections website.
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