32 votes: The gap in Anne Arundel Council District 5 after first mail-in count
Democratic candidates closed the distance in two tight races during the initial tally of 8,440 ballots, leaving 25,000 still to be counted by November 16.
By Nia Foster ·
The race for a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council in District 5 narrowed to a 32-vote margin on Thursday.
Democratic candidate Natalie Ogilvie reduced her deficit against incumbent Republican Amanda Fiedler from 725 votes to 32 after election officials began counting mail-in ballots. In District 7, Democratic candidate Spencer Jones remains behind Republican Dawn Pulliam, but the gap has shrunk from 1,379 votes to 784.
These two contests are the final undecided races for the five-member council. The outcome will determine the party composition of the body. If the current margin holds, Democrats will maintain their 4-3 majority. If Democrats win both District 5 and District 7, they will secure a 6-1 majority. A 6-1 margin allows the council to override vetoes from the county executive.
County election judges began the count at the elections office in Glen Burnie on Thursday. Rich Siejack, deputy director of the county’s elections board, stated that 8,440 mail-in ballots were scheduled for counting that day. He noted that the county still has 25,000 mail-in ballots to process in total.
Siejack outlined the remaining schedule for the canvass. Additional counts are set for Saturday, Tuesday, November 10, and Thursday, November 12. The November 12 session will review approximately 7,500 provisional ballots. A final count is planned for Friday, November 13, with any remaining ballots to be finished on Monday, November 16. The county aims to certify the election by November 16.
Fiedler holds a 50.00 percent share of the vote compared to Ogilvie’s 49.91 percent in District 5. The district includes the Broadneck Peninsula and had five more registered Republicans than Democrats in the 2024 general election. Ogilvie has received 4,829 mail-in votes so far, while Fiedler has received 2,300. Fiedler, a 47-year-old senior media buyer seeking a third term, said she was impressed by the process. "I always knew this was going to be a close race, so seeing it through to the end is very important for me," Fiedler said.
Ogilvie, a 38-year-old owner of the bakery CW Pies, could not attend the count in person but had campaign members present. "Right now, the team and everybody feels that if things keep trending the way they are, District 5 will have a new council member very soon," Ogilvie said in a phone interview.
In District 7, which covers Crofton and South County, Pulliam leads Jones 51.15 percent to 48.77 percent. Jones has collected 4,336 mail-in votes to Pulliam’s 1,728. The winner will replace Republican Shannon Leadbetter, who did not seek reelection. Jones, 28, owns Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis. "I’m still feeling cautiously optimistic, but there’s still several thousand ballots to be counted," Jones said while watching the tally.
Pulliam, 54, serves on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education. She has stated she will leave the school board if elected to the council. "From what I’m seeing, we’re doing pretty well," Pulliam said at the Board of Elections office on Thursday.
