Republican challenger Jessica Haire has conceded to incumbent Steuart Pittman in the race for Anne Arundel County executive.
Pittman, a Democrat who has served as the Maryland county’s executive since 2018, declared victory in his campaign for a second term.
“I just received a gracious phone call from Jessica Haire conceding the race for County Executive,” Pittman tweeted late Tuesday. “I’m grateful to her for a hard run race, and for her dedicated service on our council. I look forward to another four years making Anne Arundel the best place for all.”
Haire, an engineer and attorney who formerly served in the Anne Arundel County Council, said she made the decision to concede after Pittman overtook her late Tuesday as officials continue to sort through thousands of mail-in ballots.
“Last night after the most recent mail-in ballots were counted, Steuart Pittman took the lead in the race for county executive by 192 votes,” Haire said on Facebook. “Over the next few days, as more ballots are counted, I anticipate that lead will widen. As a result, I called Steuart last night to concede.”
The remaining mail-in ballots are expected to heavily favor the Democratic incumbent. Of the more than 18,000 mail-in ballots counted as of Wednesday morning, Pittman had won nearly 72% of them. Unlike much of the state, Anne Arundel does not count mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day.
If Pittman maintains his edge in the remaining mail-in ballots, he would open up a significant lead of more than 16,000 votes over Haire.
WTOP’s Jack Moore contributed to this report.
