91茄子

Montgomery County Democrat Marc Elrich cruised to victory Tuesday night in the race for county executive, defeating Independent Nancy Floreen, who was by 91茄子ington Post Editorial Board. Floreen temporarily dropped her Democratic credentials to run against Elrich.

Elrich prevailed with , and Floreen garnered 19 percent, in unofficial results. As Maryland鈥檚 most populous county, Montgomery is overwhelmingly blue. Republican Robin Ficker, who has run for public office and lost every time since 1978, captured 16 percent of the vote.

Floreen鈥檚 bipartisan support聽

Floreen and her supporters gathered in the Matchbox restaurant in Rockville to await results, and by 9 p.m. the dining room and terrace were packed tightly. Supporters shared their opinions on Floreen鈥檚 merit. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a consensus builder,鈥� said Steve Simon, a public relations consultant and Floreen campaign volunteer. 鈥淧eople work well with her.鈥�

Although Simon is a registered Democrat, he said he felt strongly that Floreen was the right choice for county executive.

鈥淚 vote my mind,鈥� Simon said.

For supporter Ellie Giles, Floreen edges out Elrich on economic, infrastructure, housing and development issues. Giles, who works in workforce development in Montgomery County, said she also typically votes blue.

鈥淚鈥檓 not wedded to it,鈥� Giles said of the Democratic Party. 鈥淲hen you have a good candidate, you go with the good candidate.鈥�

Steven Goewy, a registered Republican, also turned to Floreen for the county executive election.

鈥淭his is the first Democrat I鈥檝e ever campaigned for,鈥� Goewy said, 鈥淪he seems to be a very practical, moderate person.鈥�

Floreen said she felt 鈥渢errific鈥� going into the night.

鈥淚 have had the time of my life. The best opportunity I鈥檝e ever had to speak the truth, to do the right thing,鈥� she said, nodding to her support staff. 鈥淚 feel that we in this county are blessed by having such great people,鈥�

Leaving the Party

Floreen broke away from the Democratic Party in July.

鈥淚 wish I hadn鈥檛 had to do it,鈥� Floreen said on her decision to run as an Independent.

鈥淵ou know, for me it wasn鈥檛 that hard. My community has always come first. It鈥檚 not that I鈥檓 not basically a Democrat at heart, or that I鈥檝e abandoned any Democratic values鈥︹��

Simon admitted the campaign faced occasional backlash for the move.

For many people in the county, he said, participating in the Democratic 鈥渂lue wave鈥� is a must, regardless of the office.

Simon wasn鈥檛 worried that Floreen鈥檚 change of party would split the vote and tip the odds in Ficker鈥檚 favor. The Independents and Republicans put together don鈥檛 equal the number of Democrats in the county, he said.

鈥淲e look at it mathematically and we don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 possible,鈥� he said. 鈥�…Actually, I think it鈥檚 been a great election. The county鈥檚 never been able to give all voters a really good choice.鈥�

Local politics matter

Simon said he wished more people would pay attention to local races. They get caught up in the national races and don鈥檛 do their research on county candidates.

鈥淚 think if you look at your county and state issues, you realize that most of your life is more impacted at what happens at these levels,鈥� Simon said.

Floreen ended the night with her team by her side, wishing opponent Marc Elrich the best.

鈥淚 want to thank again all of you who contributed to making this a great experience for so many residents to engage and make our community better,鈥� Floreen said.

鈥淟et鈥檚 go forward.鈥�