Sitting State Senator Michael Hough is leading for the top position in Frederick County, but with ballots yet to be counted.
Michael Joseph Hough leads in the Frederick County Executive race with 55.36 percent of the vote against Democrat Jessica Fitzwater, who has received 44.50 percent of the vote. As with most jurisdictions, there are ballots that have not yet been received, or fully processed, so the race remains unclear.
Friday November 19 update: Hough still leads Fitzwater narrowly as ballot counting nears completion, but the race remains too close to call.
Hough has served in the Maryland State Senate since 2015, representing Frederick and Carroll Counties. Since 2017, he has also worked as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, a Republican in West Virginia, who formerly represented Frederick County as a state senator.
Fitzwater has served on the Frederick County Council for District 4 since 2015.
The Frederick News-Post reported on early vote tallies on Election Day, with Hough commenting:
“We think [the margin] is going to close because we know the mail-in ballots are predominantly going Democrat. But we think we are very safe in saying that we’re going to win this thing.”
Current County Executive and MACo member Jan Gardner was term-limited after serving for two terms. Gardner served in the top position since Frederick County’s shift to a charter form of government — having a county executive and a legislative County Council — in 2014.
Frederick County results are available from the State Board of Elections website.
MACo’s election coverage and analysis rely on unofficial results published by the State Board of Elections. Official results will follow after a full accounting of pending votes. MACo advises readers that any close unofficial results are subject to realignment in the days ahead.
