Giordano takes Republican primary race for Wicomico County Executive

The race for county executive is key for Wicomico County. The primary election was held July 19, and the Wicomico County Board of Elections completed three canvasses of both mail-in and provisional ballots by Friday.

For Republicans, it pitted Julie Giordano against John Psota.

"I just received a phone call from the Acting County Executive (Psota)," Giordano posted to Facebook on Friday. "He has officially conceded the race. I really appreciate his phone call and a hard fought campaign. I hope we can work together to reach the common goal of bringing Active Local Leadership to our county."

As of Monday, Giordano had received 3,774 votes, or 51.92%. Psota garnered 3,495 votes, or 48.08% of the votes.

In that race, there were 1,451 early votes, 4,609 Election Day votes, and 5,818 mail-in and provisional votes cast. According to the Maryland State Board of Elections website, the race had yet to be certified as of Monday.

Giordano will face Democrat Ernest "Ernie" Davis and Muir Boda of the Libertarian party in the general election.

Giordano, 40, of Hebron, is a 17-year teacher.

Unopposed in the primary was Davis, a Democrat who served from 2014-2022 representing Wicomico County Council District 1 and as vice president in 2022. He is self employed in the transportation industry.

Boda is Salisbury City Council vice president, representing District 2.

The Maryland State Board of Elections on Tuesday voted to extend three deadlines related to the 2022 Gubernatorial Elections due to the primary being held roughly three weeks later than originally planned.

By order filed March 15, in In the Matter of 2022 Legislative Districting of the State, the Maryland Court of Appeals postponed the primary election date for the 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election from June 28 to July 19.

By that same order, the Court of Appeals delegated to the the board authority to “adjust any deadlines related to certifying, displaying and printing ballots.” Due to the postponed primary election day, the State Board of Elections is scheduled to certify the election results of the 2022 Gubernatorial Primary Election on Aug. 15.

The Maryland Code, Election Law Article, prescribes certain deadlines for actions that may affect the general election ballot after the primary results are certified. These include:

Declining a Nomination: A candidate that is the nominee for an office, as determined from the certified election results, may decline the nomination by filing certain documents with the appropriate board of elections. Since it is necessary the deadline to decline nomination be after the certification date, the board extended the deadline to decline nomination from Tuesday, Aug. 2, until Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Removal of a Candidate’s Name Due to Death or Disqualification: To align with the new deadline for a candidate to decline a nomination, SBE also extended the deadline to remove a candidate’s name from the ballot due to the candidate’s death or disqualification. The previous deadline of Monday, Aug. 15, was extended to Tuesday, Aug. 16. Filling the Vacancy on a Ballot due to the above: If a candidate declines the nomination, the appropriate central committee may fill the vacancy. For the same aforementioned reasons, the board extended the deadline to fill a vacancy caused by a declination, or death/disqualification from Friday, Aug. 12, to Friday, Aug. 19.

Filling the Vacancy on a Ballot due to the above: If a candidate declines the nomination, the appropriate central committee may fill the vacancy. For the same aforementioned reasons, the board extended the deadline to fill a vacancy caused by a declination, or death/disqualification from Friday, Aug. 12, to Friday, Aug. 19.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Wicomico County Executive primary race: Giordana advances