In his second try in a year, Derrick Leon Davis emerged as the winner of the Democratic primary to serve on the Prince George’s County Council.
With more than 55 percent of the votes, Davis easily defeated a field of 13 other candidates in Tuesday’s special primary election, held to replace former County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson, who resigned in July.
Helping Davis to victory were a bevy of endorsement from local and state political leaders, including County Executive Rushern Baker and three County Council members: Andrea Harrison, D-Bladensburg, Mel Franklin, D-Upper Marlboro, and Will Campos, D-Hyattsville.
Davis is the chairman of the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, a board he was appointed to by Gov. Martin O’Malley.
He faces Day Gardner, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, in a general election race on Oct. 18 that is considered a formality in predominantly democratic Prince George’s County.
Only 97 votes were cast for Gardner on Tuesday.
Davis needed only 3,570 votes to take the race, with just 9.5 percent of the near 70,000 registered voters in District casting a ballot.
Turner, who received more than 19 percent of the votes, was endorse by Council Chairwoman Ingrid Turner, D-Bowie, and Councilwoman Karen Toles, D-Suitland.
Davis and Turner were among four candidates who ran for the second consecutive year. Both lost in September 2010 to Johnson.
Johnson resigned after pleading guilty to conspiring to tamper with witnesses and evidence in an FBI investigation of pay-to-play schemes in the county. She admitted to stuffing $79,600 in cash in her bra and underwear and flushing a $100,000 check down the toilet at the instruction of her husband, then-County Executive Jack Johnson.
