With an unofficial ballot count casting Baltimore County Del. Wade Kach as the loser by less than 2 percent of votes, the candidate for chair of the Republican Central Committee isn?t ready to concede defeat.
Kach challenged current party chair Chris Cavey, saying the incumbent didn?t do enough to recruit Republican candidates for top spots like county executive. The ensuing battle unearthed inner-party turmoil in what political observers call a political battleground for the gubernatorial election.
“Itwas a very, very feisty race,” Cavey said. “We had delegates trying to figure out where they were going to fall ? his side, my side, neutral. We?ve never had as dramatic a race as this.”
But county election officials said they still have thousands of absentee and provisional ballots to count. With 98 percent of the county?s precincts reporting, Cavey is leading by 379 votes. Kach congratulated Cavey as the two stood in the county?s Board of Elections headquarters Tuesday night watching results posted on a projector screen.
But, he said, he?s still hopeful for a victory.
“I said [to Cavey], ?It looks pretty good for you,?” Kach said. “But when people had enough confidence in you to vote for you, I can?t call it closed.”
Baltimore County?s Republican central committee is the only in the state and one of a few in the country where voters choose their own chair. This year?s race made headlines when Kach supporters accused Cavey of recruiting political newcomers to challenge incumbent Republican delegates in the seventh district.
Cavey denied the allegations and said he was “polite and excited” when newcomers approached him about running.
There are other primaries riding on the uncounted votes. Two Democrats running for the House of Delegates in District 7, Rebecca Nelson and Jim Stavropoulos Jr., are separated by 13 votes. Democrat Rick Yaffe, a candidate for the House of Delegates in District 11, is losing to Dana Stein by 156 votes.
