Dist. 36 Senate: Incumbent Pipkin (R) Defeats Mumford (D)
Incumbent Republican E.J. Pipkin soundly defeated Democratic challenger Steven Mumford in the 36th District, including a strong win in Mumford’s homebase of Kent County and leading by strong margins in the three other counties of the District.
[UPDATED with 1:37 am state elections board tally]
Districtwide, Pipkin garnered 27,769 votes, or 63.6 percent, to Mumford’s 15,762, or 36.1 percent.
With all precincts counted, Pipkin tallied 4,097 votes, or 54.8 percent, to Mumford’s 3,353, or 44.9 percent in Kent County. In Cecil County, with all election night and early voting numbers posted, Pipkin won with 8,191 votes, or 59.45 percent, to Mumford’s 5,562 votes, or 40.37 percent. In Caroline county, Pipkin won 2,818 votes to Mumford’s 1,396.
Heavily Republican Queen Anne’s county was key to Pipkin’s victory, giving him 12,663 votes to Mumford’s 5,451.
The contest featured one of the more unlikely matchups in recent Upper Shore political history. Incumbent Republican Pipkin, a multi-millionaire retired junk bond dealer, was challenged by Mumford, a dancer-actor and historic homes renovator from Chestertown whose family has been active in Kent County Democratic politics for decades.
Mumford ran a shoestring, and shoe-leather, campaign and, while a political unknown, worked the district and his family’s political connections throughout the campaign. He beat a much better known Democrat, former Elkton mayor Rob Alt, in the primary.
Mumford raised just $1,020, according to his 10/22 campaign finance report to the state Board of Elections. In contrast, Pipkin raised a total of $55,472 in the 2010 election season, plus he had a carry-over balance from his previous campaign fund of $43,608, for total cash available of $98,070. However, Pipkin has spread some of his substantial warchest around to other GOP candidates in Cecil County aligned with a “team” he and Del. Michael Smigiel (R-36) lead.
Mumford demonstrated a solid grasp of issues important in the southern portion of the district at a candidate’s forum in Queen Anne’s county and aggressively counterpunched Pipkin during a Cecil County forum in Elkton. He displayed a friendly, down-to-earth campaign style, dancing at a street fair in Elkton and waving a tri-cornered hat in a fireman’s parade in Earleville.
For his part, Pipkin—who was unopposed in the GOP primary– largely ignored his Democratic opponent and stayed on his political “slate” message of no new taxes, jobs, and a pro-business agenda while continuing his standard campaign practice of sign-waving from a truck parked on the side of area roadways.
Pipkin was first elected to his seat in 2002, when he soundly trounced Sen. Walter Baker, a Cecil County Democrat who had owned the seat for many years. Pipkin won re-election easily in 2006.
The 36th District covers half of Cecil County, part of Caroline County and all of Kent and Queen Anne’s counties.
In Cecil County, the district includes 30,637 registered voters; in Queen Anne’s, 29,705 voters; in Kent County, 12,481; and in Caroline County, 8,263, according to state Board of Elections registration data for the 2010 general election.
In his last campaign in 2006, Pipkin carried all four counties of the district by comfortable margins. His strongest showing four years ago was in Queen Anne’s, with 12,234 votes; Cecil: 7,735 votes; Kent, 4,563 votes; and Caroline, 2,632 votes.
Pipkin formerly lived in Queen Anne’s county but sold his waterfront estate there about four years ago and moved to Elkton. However, he files his campaign at a Queen Anne’s mailbox and many residents of that county are unaware he no longer lives there.
