This article was updated at 9:58 p.m. Tuesday to reflect updated results.
Marylanders on Tuesday voted to elect the state’s first Black governor, Wes Moore, and to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
Here’s a rundown of key state races:
Governor: A former businessman and nonprofit executive, Moore (D) had run up significant leads in polling and fundraising over the Republican nominee, state Del. Dan Cox of Frederick. The Associated Press called the race just after polls closed at 8 p.m.
Moore is an Army veteran, former investment banker and former nonprofit executive who has never held elective office. Moore was born in Takoma Park and raised largely in New York and has been a longtime resident of Baltimore.
Departing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan broke party lines to endorse Moore over Cox, who questioned the results of Joe Biden’s U.S. presidential victory in the 2020 election. Cox organized a bus group to protest the election results in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, but did not take part in the insurrection at the Capitol. He accused former Vice President Mike Pence of being a “traitor” but later rescinded the remark.
Moore’s running mate is Aruna Miller, formerly a state delegate representing District 15 in Montgomery County. A civil engineer, she was 7 years old when she and her family emigrated from India. Miller also is set to make history as the first immigrant to serve as Maryland’s lieutenant governor.
Moore has stressed ending inequities in education, public transportation and health care. In an appearance this fall in Silver Spring, he said he opposed the I-270 toll lanes project as championed by Hogan.
Attorney General: U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Prince George’s County), a former lieutenant governor, bested Michael Anthony Peroutka (R) of Anne Arundel County, who had previously been affiliated with the white nationalist League of the South, to succeed retiring Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh.
Wins by Moore and Brown mean that four top statewide offices will be held by Black leaders – the other two being state Treasurer Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince George’s) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Howard County).
U.S. Senate: Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Kensington was running for his second term in the Senate, challenged by builder and perennial candidate Chris Chaffee of Frederick. The AP called the race for Van Hollen at 8:01 p.m.
Comptroller: Del. Brooke Lierman, a Baltimore Democrat, defeated Republican Harford County Executive Barry Glassman in the race to replace Peter Franchot as comptroller.
Ballot initiatives: Marylanders approved a ballot measure legalizing recreational use of marijuana by adults 21 and older.
Already, Washington, D.C., Virginia and 18 other states had legalized marijuana use for adults 21 and older. Maryland’s law would legalize possession of up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana.
The ballot measure allows the General Assembly to set a tax rate on marijuana sales. It is likely to take months for legislators and regulators to develop licensing rules. Officials have said one important factor in the regulatory structure is developing greater racial equity in licensing -– inequity plagued the rollout of medical marijuana after it was legalized in 2014.
Other ballot measures included one that aimed to change the name of the state’s top appeals court and a Montgomery County charter amendment that would require the approval of both the county executive and the County Council to remove the county attorney.
Bethesda Beat reporter Steve Bohnel contributed to this article.
