Del. Rudolph Swims Against GOP Tide; Sen. Jacobs Re-elected
Incumbent Democrat David Rudolph swam against the Republican tide in Tuesday’s election, narrowly winning re-election in the only state delegate district solely within Cecil County.
Rudolph won 6,782 votes, or 48.46 percent of the total, in District 34B. His chief rival, Republican Theodore Patterson, received 6,461 votes, or 46.1 percent. A third party candidate, Michael W. Dawson, who ran on the Constitution Party ticket, received 749 votes, or 5.35 percent.
Dawson’s third party candidacy may have saved the seat for Rudolph, drawing conservative votes away from Patterson. (Michael W. Dawson is not the same person as the Mike Dawson who ran unsuccessfully in the GOP primary for a county commissioner’s seat.)
Patterson is a leader of the county’s Young Republicans Club and a charter member of the slate of candidates backed by Del. Michael Smigiel and Sen. E.J. Pipkin (both R-36th District.) Patterson did not attend candidates’ forums, unlike Rudolph and Dawson, during the campaign.
Rudolph’s district covers the central and western portions of Cecil County, while Smigiel’s adjoining district covers much of Elkton and all of the southern Cecil County area—along with all of Kent and Queen Anne’s counties and part of Caroline county.
During his nearly 16 years in office, Rudolph has been very popular in Cecil County, even outside his own district, and has been instrumental in steering assistance to the entire county from Annapolis. He is vice chairman of the powerful House Economic Matters Committee.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Nancy Jacobs of Harford County won by a solid margin in the two-county 34th District, totaling 21,484 votes, or 56 percent, over her Democratic rival, Art Helton. Helton, who was a state senator in the mid-70’s to mid’80’s, received 16,783 districtwide, or 43.77 percent of the total. He had campaigned heavily in the Cecil County portion of the district.
In races for two seats in House of Delegates Dist. 34A, which includes a tiny sliver of Cecil County but is mostly based in Harford County, incumbent Democrat Mary-Dulany James was the top overall vote-getter, with 12,081 votes.
The second seat in the district was formerly held by Del. Dan Riley. He lost in the Democratic primary to Marla Posey-Moss, but she lost Tuesday’s contest to Republican Glen Glass, who tallied 10,546 votes.
