Blue wave helps Democratic newcomer likely flip Republican-held Anne Arundel council seat

The national blue wave that swept Democrats to power across the country lifted Democrat Spencer Jones to a likely upset victory in the race for the Anne Arundel County Council District 7 seat.

On Friday, Jones narrowly led Republican Dawn Pulliam, who was favored to win the council seat held by the GOP since 1994.

Trailing after Election Day, Jones gradually moved into the lead in the historically Republican district, closing the gap to 14 votes earlier this week, then leading by 48 on Wednesday and by 381 as of Friday afternoon.

That’s out of nearly 36,000 votes cast in the surprisingly tight race.

“You need a lot of stuff to go right to run as a Democrat in District 7,” Jones said in a Friday phone call, shortly after announcing his victory.

He added that Pulliam has not called to concede.

Pulliam confirmed this in an afternoon text, saying, “I plan on following the process to the end.”

There are still around 170 ballots to be counted on Monday and Tuesday, but Jones said the remaining votes aren’t enough to overcome his lead. The election results have yet to be certified.

The district stretches from Crofton to Anne Arundel’s rural southern end and has not elected a Democratic council member since Virginia Clagett left office after 20 years.

The race was the last outstanding election result on the council.

A Jones victory would give Democrats a commanding 6-1 supermajority over Republicans in the new County Council, which will take office in December. That would fulfill a goal the party set out to achieve before the election. The council is split 4-3 with Democrats in the majority.

The Democrats wanted at least five council votes to be able to override vetoes by the county executive, redraw council lines, propose amendments to Anne Arundel’s charter and change council rules.

In a post on Facebook, Jones thanked his campaign supporters, including state Sen. Dawn Gile, state Sen. Shaneka Henson, County Executive-elect Allison Pickard, Del.-elect Chuck Cook and their teams.

“This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life,” he wrote in the post.

Jones, 28, is a restaurateur who owns four Five Guys franchises and Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis.

Almost 40% of his donations this election cycle came from outside the state, while nearly all of Pulliam’s came from inside it.

This is Pulliam’s latest effort to secure the District 7 seat. Pulliam serves on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.

She often emphasized Jones’ lack of experience to voters, but told The Banner last week that her campaign knew it would be a tight race.

“With the national tempo, things weren’t looking good for Republicans,” she said.

She outraised Jones by just under $100,000 this election cycle.

The Democrats’ dominance in November’s midterm elections, which flipped multiple historically Republican seats in the House of Delegates and on the County Council, is part of a statewide and nationwide blue wave that some are calling a repudiation of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Dan Nataf, a political scientist and professor at Anne Arundel Community College, said the tide turning in favor of county Democrats may reflect a national reflex against Trump rather than the appeal of individual candidates.

“It seems unusual at best that this election would sweep in someone who is not known, who has no particular history or record of running before, and has started from scratch,” he said of Jones.

Jones said Thursday that he was “cautiously optimistic” as he held onto a 48-vote lead heading into the Friday count of provisional ballots — a common method of voting for people who’ve moved to the area and aren’t sure if they’re registered.

His lead came shortly after first-time candidate Natalie Ogilvie, a Democrat who ran against incumbent Republican Amanda Fiedler in District 5, declared victory. Her win ended county Republicans’ stronghold in the district that includes Arnold and Severn, a hold that stretched back to the ’80s.

Nataf explained that the gains for Democrats in districts known for their Republican stalwarts were “marginal flips,” put into motion long before 2026. He first noticed the trend in 2016 when the county, whose large bloc of unaffiliated voters often swayed Anne Arundel red, voted in favor of Democrat Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by just over 1,500 votes.

In 2018, during Trump’s first term, another blue wave hit in the midterm elections, with the county electing Democrat Steuart Pittman as county executive. He succeeded Republican Steve Schuh and brought with him a 4-3 Democratic majority on the council.

This year, Democrats made more headway with Chuck Cook’s victory over Republican Del. Stuart Schmidt Jr., who was favored in the Maryland House of Delegates District 33B race in Anne Arundel.

“The seeds were already there,” Cook said of the Democrats’ newfound control in 2026.

“The challenge will be the next election in 2030,” he added. “Trump will not be in the picture.”