After a week-long wait, Brandon Scott has sealed the Democratic nomination for mayor, confirming his on the evening of June 9, 2020.
Former mayor Sheila Dixon initially held a sizable lead over Scott after the first set of ballots were counted. The Baltimore City primary election, held June 2, 2020, was riddled with a number of issues, including a “small proofing error” on ballots in District 1, difficulties with incorrect mail-in ballots and wrong dates being printed on some ballots which led to counting delays.
However, as updated results were released over the weekend into the early part of this week, the numbers showed that Scott narrowed the deficit and retained a lead on his way to victory.
As of the night of June 9, Scott edged Dixon by a margin of nearly 2,400 votes, sealing the win for the 36-year-old from Park Heights. According to the state board of elections, Scott has 42,798 votes (29.4 percent) to Dixon’s 40,418 (27.7 percent).
He delivered an acceptance speech outside of his grandmother’s home in Park Heights amongst family, supporters and community members at a press conference on June 10, 2020.
Scott began his remarks by expressing his lifelong desire to serve Baltimore and his intentions to build a new way forward for the city, highlighting gun violence, rebuilding trust in local government, public safety and investing in the youth as some of the prominent issues he plans to address as mayor.
“Our campaign was about showing that we could bring people together around a shared vision for Baltimore,” he said. “Our campaign was about proving to the world that a young Black man who grew up in the forgotten Baltimore here in Park Heights could survive everything that you have to live through in Baltimore… to be the leader of this city.”
He went on to commend Dixon, who served as the city’s first female mayor from 2007 to 2010 before resigning.
“To Mayor Dixon, I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you for running a clean race about the future of Baltimore City; thank you for showing people that Baltimore does believe in second chances; and thank you for remaining committed to the city of Baltimore for your entire service and your entire life,” Scott said.
Scott, who fueled his campaign on the slogan “a new way forward,” was endorsed by The Baltimore Sun and emerged as the favorite in a field of more than 20 Democratic mayoral candidates, also including Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young, Mary Miller, Thiru Vignarajah, T.J. Smith and Carlmichael Stokey Cannady.
Young, who took over in the stead of former mayor Catherine Pugh after she resigned in 2019, also received acknowledgements from Scott.
“To my good friend Mayor Young— I want everyone to join me in thanking the mayor,” Scott said. “The mayor who took over city government amidst another corruption scandal, who immediately faced the issues around the cybertech in Baltimore, who had to deal with the continuing gun violence epidemic and now a global health pandemic. His service to the city of Baltimore during these trying times has been very admirable and we owe him a debt of gratitude.”
As the sitting city council president, Scott, along with fellow council members, is immediately tasked with addressing the city’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021.
Scott will face off against Republican nominee Shannon Wright, former city council president candidate and former vice president of the Yonkers (N.Y.) NAACP, for the mayoral seat in the Nov. 3 general election. Bob Wallace, an entrepreneur with multiple businesses in Mount Vernon, will run as an independent against Scott and Wright.
Delegate Nick Mosby (District 40), formerly a District 7 representative on the city council, comfortably won the Democratic nomination for council president over Councilwoman Shannon Sneed and former 12th district councilman Carl Stokes.
“Baltimore, I am incredibly excited and grateful for the outcome of last week’s election. We secured more than 40 percent of the vote in a crowded race and over 50,000 Baltimoreans supported our #NickForPrez campaign,” wrote Mosby in a June 11 Instagram post. “To the Mayor, City Council President, City Council, Comptroller, Police Commissioner and all the men and women who serve our city on the frontlines of governmental services- I support you and I want to partner with you to make our city better.”
Cyber security engineer Jovani M. Patterson ran unopposed for the Republican nomination and will face Mosby in November. For the comptroller spot, District 4 Councilman Bill Henry topped incumbent Joan Pratt, who has been comptroller for the last 25 years.
Democrats reportedly outnumber Republicans 10 to one in Baltimore, making Scott the presumptive mayor and Mosby the presumptive city council president. Because the Republican party